Giant solitary colonic diverticulum presenting as an abdominal mass: A case report

Abstract

Diverticular disease of the colon is a common disease in the Western population. Giant colonic 
diverticulum is a rare presentation of this disease. We report a case of a 38-year-old female suffering 
from chronic kidney disease, who presented with chronic constipation and meteorism progressively 
getting worse over a number of months. Pre-operative imaging revealed a solitary sigmoid mass which 
later turned out to be a giant diverticulum which was compressing her bladder and ureters. Bilateral 
ureteric stents were inserted and an anterior resection performed. Recovery of patient post-operatively 
was uneventful. Histopathology report confirmed a perforated inflamed giant diverticulum in the sigmoid 
colon. Pathophysiology of giant colonic diverticulum is discussed.