17392              PERFORATION OF A SIGMOID DIVERTICULUM

The patient was women aged 76 who had been constipated for some time.  She presented with intermittent central abdominal pain and fever to 39oC.  The abdomen was tense and distended and there was tenderness in the left iliac fossa.  She died that same day.  At postmortem there was early general peritonitis and there were multiple diverticula in the descending colon, with a perforation in the sigmoid colon.

The specimen shows this portion of the bowel.  The perforation measures 2 cms in length and its margins are congested.  The prosector thought it was adjacent to a diverticulum, but this is not obvious in the specimen.