usually performed for the purpose of removing traumatized sections which had perforated in car wrecks hours/days earlier, and it’s really easy to remove only a small portion of the bowel. The resectioning (or anastamosis, the medical jargon term) of the bowel doesn’t depend on how much bowel is removed, and surgeons really do try to remove as little as possible, especially for a limited tissue like the large intestine. Recovery is usually not a big deal, either. It’s weeks before you can try normalish food, but the large intestine mostly just pulls water out of fecal matter as it makes the final leg through your guts. The small intestine is a lot more specialized tissue, and usually it’s trauma to the small intestine that results in horrendous weight loss, not the large intestine.

Now some people have autoimmune disorders or other pathologies which cause significant portions of the bowel to die, or become necrotic, and in those cases the doctors do in fact have to hack ‘n slash their way through everything to find the good pieces, which they then attempt to reconnect. But for a burst diverticula they shouldn’t have to do anything drastic. If there are any other obviously faltering or dangerous diverticula present, the surgeon uses their best judgment on whether to remove or not. But for diverticulitis, it’s generally manageable with diet and some low-key medications. Obviously there are exceptions, but usually it’s quite manageable.