TREATMENT OF HEMORRHOIDS
Attention!
If you find blood in your bowel movement, an endoscopic bowel exam is always required!
Hemorrhoids may camouflage the simultaneous occurrence of early stages of colon cancer.
Failure to undergo a bowel exam may in such a case have fatal consequences.
How can hemorrhoids be treated?
There are many ways to treat hemorrhoids – THE MOST EFFECTIVE HAEMORRHOID TREATMENT METHODS
Conservative hemorrhoid treatment
In the beginning, conservative, non-surgical treatment is possible. Medicinal ointments, suppositories, or tablets are used. Patients sit in a bath of chamomile or oak bark infusion. Dietary measures consist of increasing dietary fibre and vitamin intake. A conservative approach is usually effective only for hemorrhoids of stage one and at most stage two. Elimination of more prominent hemorrhoids requires medical intervention.
Outpatient removal of hemorrhoids - non-surgical means
Outpatient methods, which aren't surgery in the true sense of the word, are very effective. These methods are provided on an outpatient basis, without hospitalization, in one or more sessions, and usually do not require absence from one's job. All of these methods involve local necrosis of the tissue of the hemorrhoid. They differ in their physical effect.
Older and today less used methods include:
Cryotherapy - nodes are removed by quick freezing.
Photocoagulation and Laser therapy use the burning effect of concentrated light.
Sclerotization – special needles are used to inject a solution into the area of the hemorrhoid, which then causes sclerotization - changes in the node's connective tissue and its retraction (disappearance).
Today, the most often used methods include:
Barron ligature – a special rubber ring placed on the base of the hemorrhoid chokes off its blood flow. The node eventually dies off and falls away.
A disadvantage is frequent pain during application of the rubber ring, and for several days afterwards/ This method is usually used on Stage 1 and 2 hemorrhoids.
Hemoron – elimination of hemorrhoids using low-voltage currents. This is the latest treatment, and is growing in popularity. Its greatest advantage is that it is pain-free. Low-voltage currents applied to the hemorrhoid can be precisely tuned to the patient's individual sensitivity. This method can be used on State I to III hemorrhoids. In some cases, also to Stage IV.
Surgery
Surgical treatment with hospitalization is suitable for a small group of patients with an advance stage of hemorrhoids for which outpatient treatment techniques have failed.
Classical surgery consists of cutting off the hemorrhoids and tying off their vein stems.
A disadvantage of this method is greater pain, risks related to surgery in the anal area, and more time away from work.
Long's method is an operation performed with a stapler. Its great advantage is a low degree of pain experienced by up to 80 % of patients, quicker recuperation, and less time away from work. Its disadvantage is that the patient must pay for the surgery.