What Type of Surgeon Does Surgery for Diverticulitis?

When dealing with diverticulitis, you will need to speak with a doctor who specializes in conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. This doctor will treat your diverticulitis symptoms and perform diverticulitis surgery when necessary.

Identification

• Diverticulitis is a medical condition that occurs when a small pouch (diverticula) in the digestive tract becomes inflamed or infected. Diverticulitis causes severe pain in the abdominal area, along with fever, nausea and unusual bowel habits.

Effects

• Although diverticulitis commonly persists with no severe symptoms, you should contact a doctor immediately if you have intense abdominal pain that lasts for several hours, especially if you also have a fever. You should also contact a doctor immediately if you are experiencing bleeding from the rectum.

Solution

• Diverticultis is treated by a gastroenterologist, or GI doctor. This type of doctor specializes in treatments of the gastrointestinal tract, including the stomach, intestines, liver, colon and pancreas.

Treatment

• If you have a recurring case of diverticulitis, your GI doctor will likely recommend surgery to remove the damaged part of the colon. In many cases, the doctor will be able to reconnect the healthy parts of the colon.

Considerations

• Depending on the severity of the condition and symptoms, more than one diverticulitis surgery may be necessary. In this case, the doctor will use the first surgery to sew the upper part of the intestine to an opening in the abdomen, where it will empty into a colostomy bag. The second surgery will then be focused on reconnecting the intestine and removing the colostomy bag.