Elective colostomy closure in an AIDS patient.

This article describes a 27-year-old patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) who underwent emergency sigmoid colostomy, Hartmann's pouch, and presacral drainage for rectal perforation. Three months later, he underwent uneventful elective colostomy closure, a procedure previously unreported in an AIDS patient. He remained without gastrointestinal symptoms for 14 months after colostomy closure until he died from central nervous system toxoplasmosis. A diagnosis of AIDS alone should not preclude colostomy closure in AIDS patients.