Who is a candidate for the procedure? Haemorrhoid surgery is performed when haemorrhoids:
bleed severely
are extremely painful
prolapse or stick out of the anus too far
How is the procedure performed? Haemorrhoid surgery may be done in a doctor's office or in a hospital. It is done using anaesthesia, a medication that makes a person unaware of pain. Local anaesthesia may be applied to one small part of the body so no pain is felt in the area of surgery. Or a person can be put completely to sleep with medications, called general anaesthesia. In this type of pain control, a person feels no pain anywhere in the body.
There are 5 methods used to remove or reduce the size of haemorrhoids. They are:
rubber band ligation. For this surgery, a rubber band is placed around the base of the haemorrhoid. The band cuts off the flow of blood, and the haemorrhoid withers away in a few days.
sclerotherapy. For this surgery, a chemical solution is injected around the blood vessel to shrink the haemorrhoid.
cryosurgery. For this surgery, the haemorrhoid is frozen with liquid nitrogen.
laser surgery. This surgery involves burning the haemorrhoidal tissue with a laser beam.
haemorrhoidectomy. This procedure is used to permanently remove haemorrhoids. It is performed in the operating room with the person lying on his or her stomach or back. The person will not be able to eat or drink for at least 4 hours prior to surgery. An enema is usually done before the surgery. This is a procedure in which a fluid is injected into the rectum to clean it out. The rectal area may also be shaved.
What happens right after the procedure? If a surgical haemorrhoidectomy is performed, the person will go to a surgery recovery room for a short time after surgery.
take a laxative or stool softener, such as coloxyl (docusate), to prevent constipation
What are the potential complications after the procedure? The potential complications of these procedures include:
bleeding
infection
Author: Gail Hendrickson, RN, BS Reviewer: eknowhow Medical Review Panel Editor: Dr John Hearne Last Updated: 5/02/2005 Contributors Potential conflict of interest information for reviewers available on request
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