Diverticular disease of the colon in the younger age group

Summary and Conclusions Twenty-three patients, 45 years of age or less, were studied with special reference to recurrent attacks of diverticulitis. The virulent course of diverticulitis in these patients was revealed by an operative rate of 61 per cent. Surgery was necessary for complications in 46.6 per cent subsequent to the first and only attack of diverticulitis. Nine patients had primary resections of the colon with no mortality. Staged procedures prolonged the period of recovery; an average of 50.5 days' hospitalization was required in these cases. Diverticulitis in young persons is a progressive disease. This possibility can be eliminated by prophylactic resection, as shown in the case of the 45-year-old man with an eight-year history of severe morbidity.