[Diverticulitis of the colon, indications and results of surgery (author's transl)].

155 operations performed on patients with diverticulitis of the colon at the Department of Surgery, University of Mainz Medical School, were analyzed retrospectively. Mortality was 5.4% in elective surgical interventions. Primary resection was possible only in a few of the emergency cases. In cases with ileus apalliative colostomy was performed mostly as a first step of surgical therapy: if perforation had occurred into the abdominal cavity simple closure, drainage and colostomy, or eventration of the perforated region were the first steps of surgical therapy. Mortality in the emergency patients was 45.5% due to the bad general condition after longstanding ileus or due to continuing smouldering fecal peritonitis after perforation. This bad prognosis does support our view, that colectomy should be done early in patients with chronic recurrent diverticulitis.