Abstract
The prevalence of diverticular disease in the Western and industrialized nations has
increased over the last century, and our understanding of this disease and its management
continues to evolve. In this article, we review the literature regarding the postoperative
quality of life (QOL) and functional outcomes following surgical management of diverticulitis,
including information regarding bowel function, recurrence of symptoms, and other
postoperative sequelae. While objective parameters, such as attacks of diverticulitis,
complications, and clinical episodes have been studied, there is a paucity of data
on less objective factors, such as overall patient satisfaction after operative management
of diverticular disease. The literature shows improvement in QOL following surgical
intervention for diverticulitis if preoperative QOL was significantly low, secondary
to severe/complicated diverticulitis. However, a subset of patients does continue
to have symptoms following surgical intervention for diverticulitis. Often neglected
in the literature, there remains a need for prospective data evaluating preoperative
function to ascertain the impact of surgery on patients' QOL and postoperative function.
Keywords
diverticular disease - quality-of-life measurement - surgical outcomes - postoperative
sequelae
