In the surgical treatment of diverticulitis, mortality for elective resection and primary anastomosis is 0% to 2% compared to 5% to 20% for emergency surgeries. The increased morbidity and mortality of emergency surgery is related to inadequate control of the septic process, resection of the perforated colonic segment has clear advantages over previous procedures of proximal colostomia and perforation drainage.

Technical complications related to colonic surgery include bleeding, leakage of the anastomosis with associated infection, and occasionally inadvertent injury to adjacent organs, particularly the ureter. These risks are lower in patients who undergo elective collectomia, with complications being less than 5%.

Although the risks of hemorrhage and injury to neighboring organs are greater in emergency surgery, not performing primary anastomoses reduces the problem of anastomosis leaks. As diverticulitis affects older people, the risks of surgery are associated with other general pathologies of patients such as heart or lung diseases.