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Transverse colon diverticulitis mimicking acute appendicitis
  1. Ilias Vagios1,
  2. Michail Vailas1,
  3. Chrysovalantis Vergadis2 and
  4. Dimitrios Schizas1
  1. 11st Surgical Department, Laiko General Hospital, Athens, Attica, Greece
  2. 2Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, Laiko General Hospital, Athens, Attica, Greece
  1. Correspondence to Dr Ilias Vagios; iliasvagios{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Diverticulitis in a solitary transverse colon diverticulum is uncommon, with only a handful of cases documented in the literature. There are various clinical manifestations of the disease, which make clinical and radiological diagnosis rather challenging. Herein, we present a case of a premenopausal female patient in her late 40s who presented to the emergency department, complaining of right lower quadrant abdominal pain, nausea, anorexia and fever. Following clinical, biochemical and radiological tests, the patient was prepared for surgical operation, with the presumed diagnosis of acute appendicitis. An appendicectomy was planned via a McBurney incision. Notably, no inflammation of the appendix was discovered. However, on further exploration, an inflammatory mass was identified in the transverse colon, which was subsequently excised and sent for histological examination. The histology results confirmed the presence of a ruptured solitary transverse colon diverticulum, accompanied by an adjacent mesenteric abscess. The patient’s postoperative recovery was uneventful.

  • radiology
  • general surgery

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Footnotes

  • Contributors Project supervisor: DS. Conception and design: DS, IV and CV. Data collection, analysis and interpretation: IV, DS and MV. Writing the manuscript: DS, IV and CV. Critical revision of the manuscript: DS and MV.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Case reports provide a valuable learning resource for the scientific community and can indicate areas of interest for future research. They should not be used in isolation to guide treatment choices or public health policy.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.