The surgical management of patients with diverticulitis of the colon has changed from late treatment of dire complications toward progressive earlier resection in those failing to respond to medical therapy.1,2 This transition has occurred with advances in intestinal antisepsis3 as well as proper application of measures which make the older patient a better surgical risk. Factors which assume importance in this change include improved anesthesia, the better use of blood replacement, more understanding of electrolytes and body fluids, advances in surgical judgment, and technical improvements in the care of these patients.4,5 Stage procedures are decreasing in frequency to one-stage resection with primary anastomosis, and this has been shown to be a safe procedure yielding good results.6-8 Stage procedures are necessary, however, when patients with complications of diverticulitis are seen late and when the surgeon expects a high operative mortality rate. A study of patients with diverticulitis