Sigmoid colectomy for diverticulitis can be technically challenging owing to severe inflammation in the left lower quadrant & pelvis. Hand-assisted technique may facilitate laparoscopic completion of this surgery while retaining the short-term benefits associated with "pure" laparoscopic surgery, where an incision is made only for extracting the specimen. We recently performed a retrospective review of our patients and showed that the patients who underwent hand-assisted sigmoidectomy for diverticulitis had a significantly shorter operative time compared to patients who underwent a "pure" laparoscopic sigmoidectomy.