Here are some excerpts from a radiology report I received. I
left out some portions that were not pertinent and I highlighted in bold some of the
better parts. My comments are in brackets.
This was in reference to a CT scan of the abdomen for
abdominal pain.
Free peritoneal air is present. Proximal small bowel loops are dilated to about 4 cm in diameter. In
the lower abdomen and upper pelvis there is a region of edema and a change in
caliber of the diameter of the bowel consistent
with bowel obstruction. This edema also surrounds the sigmoid colon. There
are diverticula and diverticulitis is a
consideration. Perforated
diverticulitis is also another consideration for the free air. There are
some collections of air along the right side of the sigmoid colon which may be extraluminal or perhaps some prominent diverticula. A
small abscess in this region is a consideration.
There is diffuse edema in the lower omentum.
No abnormal masses are
seen in the pelvis. No significant amount of free pelvic fluid is present.
{Is there an insignificant amount of fluid?]
No appendicitis. No diverticulitis. No free air.[!]
IMPRESSION: Proximal
small bowel obstruction. Questionable
diverticulitis with questionable small
abscess adjacent to the sigmoid colon. Pneumoperitoneum
[“Pneumoperitoneum” means free air in the abdominal cavity.]
Is there diverticulitis? Is there free air? What the hell is
going on?
So if you were the surgeon, what would you do?
At least the radiologist used the correct plural form of the
word “diverticulum.” See my previous post
on this topic.
