The CT scan is most useful in making the diagnosis of intussusception. Colonic lesions should be resected without reduction. Small bowel lesions should be reduced only in patients in whom a benign diagnosis has been strongly suggested preoperatively or in patients in whom resection may result in short gut syndrome.

Staple closure by means of a Powered Multifire Endo GIA 60 is a simple, quick and safe alternative to the standard suture closure technique, as it reduces the incidence of pancreatic fistula.

When painless, massive, fresh rectal bleeding occurs in elderly and bed-ridden patients, it is important to carefully examine the lower rectum, as there is a strong possibility of AHRU.

Purpose This study was performed to clarify the sonographic features of acute colonic diverticulitis to enable its differentiation from appendicitis. Methods Of 119 patients who were referred to our hospitals for lower abdominal pain between June 1997 and December 1998 and underwent sonography, 12 patients had a definitive diagnosis of acute colonic diverticulitis and 4 patients a tentative diagnosis. Seventy‐eight patients were diagnosed as having acute appendicitis, confirmed by appendectomy. In the 16 patients with diagnoses of diverticulitis, the sonographic and clinical features of acute colonic diverticulitis were studied. Results Among the 12 patients with definitive diagnoses of acute colonic diverticulitis, sonographic findings included localized thickening of the colonic wall (100%) and a hemispheric mass (the “dome sign”) protruding at the thickened colonic wall (100%) and consisting of a hypoechoic wall (100%) and a central echogenic area (66%). The presence of diverticula was confirmed by barium‐enema x‐ray study in all 12 patients. The 4 patients with tentative diagnoses of acute colonic diverticulitis all had colonic wall thickening but no dome sign. Colonoscopy revealed colitis in 3 of these patients. All 16 patients recovered with conservative treatment, without laparotomy. Conclusions Sonography was useful for differentiating acute colonic diverticulitis from appendicitis. The sonographic finding of the dome sign seems to be specific for acute colonic diverticulitis. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 28:340–346, 2000.