Laparoscopy for perforated acute diverticulitis of the sigmoid colon: navigating the evidence

Acute diverticulitis (AD) represents a very common disease in western countries. It has been estimated that the lifetime risk of diverticulitis in patients with diverticulosis ranges between 10% and 25% (1), even if more recent studies based on a combination of colonoscopy and computed tomography suggested that the risk is much lower (<5%) (2).