Acute volvulus of the right colon: An analysis of 69 patients

Sixty‐nine patients with acute volvulus of the right colon have been analyzed; the overall mortality was 19%. Nonviable colon was present in 20 patients; the mortality rate in these patients was 40%. When the cecum is viable, a combination of simple cecopexy and tube cecostomy was as effective as resection in preventing long‐term recurrence. Cecopexy alone was followed by recurrence in 20%. In the presence of cecal perforation or a large area of confluent gangrene, resection with the formation of an ileostomy and a distal mucous fistula is the procedure of choice; resection with primary anastomosis should be avoided. When the gangrene is patchy, resection and primary anastomosis appears to be a safe procedure.