Choose Hemorrhoid Surgery Wisely - Know the Facts
Hemorrhoids (piles) are classified, depending on severity, into four degrees or classes.
First degree Hemorrhoids bleed but they do not drop out of the rectum Second degree Prolapse from rectum and show on the outside.
This usually happens during defecation and they will retract back up inside without help Third degree Hemorrhoids push out from rectum and need you to push them back inside Fourth degree Hemorrhoids cannot be pushed back in after coming out.
They swell, strangulate and create a lot of pain.
Depending on what class of hemorrhoid you are diagnosed with will allow the doctor to choose just which procedure or surgery that will work best for you.
The following are a few of the more common surgeries: Sclerotherapy If you have class one hemorrhoids and they are not protruding from your rectal opening then this procedure would work well for you.
The doctor injects a solution into each of the hemorrhoids.
This procedure acts much like the rubber band ligation, but the chemical is used to destroy the hemorrhoid instead of cutting off the blood supply to it.
There are many sclerosants, including chemicals like almond oil and phenol or a salt solution, they all work the same by causing a low inflammation reaction which will scar the vein and mucosal tissue and thus cause the walls to collapse and the hemorrhoid to shrivel up.
Cryosurgery Using liquid nitrogen or nitrous oxide the doctor cools down a cryoprobe to freezing and then touches it to the hemorrhoid to freeze and destroy the tissue.
In two to three weeks the hemorrhoids will then shrink and fall off.
This used to be widely used but it has many problems that people do not like to deal with.
You can get a foul odor as the hemorrhoid decays, you can get an infection with drainage and it is a painful procedure.
Electro Cauterization An electrical probe is charged and pressed to the hemorrhoid to burn it off, the bleeding controlled by the cautery.
It does create some pain.
Laser or Infrared cautery This is used to destroy a hemorrhoid.
The laser coagulates it and shrinks it.
This is a great improvement over cryo and electro cautery surgeries as the depth of coagulation is better controlled and patients have less pain, bleeding and problems.
PPH or Procedure for Prolapse and Hemorrhoids A minimally invasive surgical approach that is used on class three hemorrhoids and helps patients recover from hemorrhoid surgery faster with less pain, less complications and less need of pain medication when compared to conventional hemorrhoidectomy procedures.
This procedure essentially pulls up, or positions the mucosa, or anal canal tissue, to a healthier place, thus stapling it out of the way which reduces blood flow to the internal hemorrhoids.
These internal hemorrhoids then shrink within four to six weeks after the procedure Artery Ligation Surgery or Doppler Probe The surgeon uses ultrasound to find which artery is feeding the hemorrhoid then sews it off.
The hemorrhoid then shrinks and the patient feels well again.
This procedure is expensive and offers little advantage over rubber band ligation.
Hemorrhoidectomy or Hemorrhoid Surgery This is the surgical removal of hemorrhoids and is normally only done for class two or three hemorrhoids.
In the procedure the physician actually cuts out the hemorrhoids with his scalpel or lasers, controls the bleeding with cauterization and then uses sutures to sew the area closed.
This is not a comfortable surgery at all.
There is pain and bleeding and discharge.
Sometimes the anal canal is packed for 24 hours which gives the patient discomfort and fullness in his bottom.
The hospitalization can be up to ten days.
You will be given pain medication and a regimen of sitz baths.
Having your first bowel movement is very scary and difficult.
The healing period can be up to two months.
This surgery is plagued by some serious side effects so again it is only the most severe cases that will ever be offered this procedure.
The side effects can include the anal canal being narrowed, difficulty or inability to defecate, tears in the anal canal and in rare instances the nerves are damaged and you can no longer tell the difference between expelling gas and defecating and that can be an embarrassing mishap.
Because of the cost of surgery and the side effects and problems associated with it, only about 1% of hemorrhoids are removed this way.
First degree Hemorrhoids bleed but they do not drop out of the rectum Second degree Prolapse from rectum and show on the outside.
This usually happens during defecation and they will retract back up inside without help Third degree Hemorrhoids push out from rectum and need you to push them back inside Fourth degree Hemorrhoids cannot be pushed back in after coming out.
They swell, strangulate and create a lot of pain.
Depending on what class of hemorrhoid you are diagnosed with will allow the doctor to choose just which procedure or surgery that will work best for you.
The following are a few of the more common surgeries: Sclerotherapy If you have class one hemorrhoids and they are not protruding from your rectal opening then this procedure would work well for you.
The doctor injects a solution into each of the hemorrhoids.
This procedure acts much like the rubber band ligation, but the chemical is used to destroy the hemorrhoid instead of cutting off the blood supply to it.
There are many sclerosants, including chemicals like almond oil and phenol or a salt solution, they all work the same by causing a low inflammation reaction which will scar the vein and mucosal tissue and thus cause the walls to collapse and the hemorrhoid to shrivel up.
Cryosurgery Using liquid nitrogen or nitrous oxide the doctor cools down a cryoprobe to freezing and then touches it to the hemorrhoid to freeze and destroy the tissue.
In two to three weeks the hemorrhoids will then shrink and fall off.
This used to be widely used but it has many problems that people do not like to deal with.
You can get a foul odor as the hemorrhoid decays, you can get an infection with drainage and it is a painful procedure.
Electro Cauterization An electrical probe is charged and pressed to the hemorrhoid to burn it off, the bleeding controlled by the cautery.
It does create some pain.
Laser or Infrared cautery This is used to destroy a hemorrhoid.
The laser coagulates it and shrinks it.
This is a great improvement over cryo and electro cautery surgeries as the depth of coagulation is better controlled and patients have less pain, bleeding and problems.
PPH or Procedure for Prolapse and Hemorrhoids A minimally invasive surgical approach that is used on class three hemorrhoids and helps patients recover from hemorrhoid surgery faster with less pain, less complications and less need of pain medication when compared to conventional hemorrhoidectomy procedures.
This procedure essentially pulls up, or positions the mucosa, or anal canal tissue, to a healthier place, thus stapling it out of the way which reduces blood flow to the internal hemorrhoids.
These internal hemorrhoids then shrink within four to six weeks after the procedure Artery Ligation Surgery or Doppler Probe The surgeon uses ultrasound to find which artery is feeding the hemorrhoid then sews it off.
The hemorrhoid then shrinks and the patient feels well again.
This procedure is expensive and offers little advantage over rubber band ligation.
Hemorrhoidectomy or Hemorrhoid Surgery This is the surgical removal of hemorrhoids and is normally only done for class two or three hemorrhoids.
In the procedure the physician actually cuts out the hemorrhoids with his scalpel or lasers, controls the bleeding with cauterization and then uses sutures to sew the area closed.
This is not a comfortable surgery at all.
There is pain and bleeding and discharge.
Sometimes the anal canal is packed for 24 hours which gives the patient discomfort and fullness in his bottom.
The hospitalization can be up to ten days.
You will be given pain medication and a regimen of sitz baths.
Having your first bowel movement is very scary and difficult.
The healing period can be up to two months.
This surgery is plagued by some serious side effects so again it is only the most severe cases that will ever be offered this procedure.
The side effects can include the anal canal being narrowed, difficulty or inability to defecate, tears in the anal canal and in rare instances the nerves are damaged and you can no longer tell the difference between expelling gas and defecating and that can be an embarrassing mishap.
Because of the cost of surgery and the side effects and problems associated with it, only about 1% of hemorrhoids are removed this way.
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