Top 5 Hemorrhoid Surgery Techniques

Saturday, November 20th, 2010 at 3:35 pm

This article will explore the sometimes controversial approach of hemorrhoid surgery. I will be sharing with you my personal experiences with hemorrhoid surgery and the experiences of people I have personally dealt with.

Also in this article we’ll explore the top 5 techniques used in piles surgery and you’ll have a detailed account of each one’s approach, pain level, healing time and crucially – risks involved.

I should tell you before I get into the article that I haven’t had hemorrhoid surgery myself, but there’s a very good reason for that. I am going to be giving you the nightmarish account of one person’s ordeal after having hemorrhoid surgery in just a moment.

And if this isn’t enough to deter you from surgery I will give you 5 compelling reasons why you shouldn’t have surgery.

While surgery is referred by doctors worldwide, it carries risks greater than any natural remedy. Referring surgery is an entirely different ballgame to having surgery yourself…

When I first suffered with hemorrhoids nearly 5 years ago I knew immediately I had hemorrhoids. I am fortunate enough to work in the health industry and so I’m very clued up on health conditions of all kinds – it truly makes you appreciate the health you have when you see others suffering on a daily basis.

So when I began to notice the symptoms of piles, it was a stark reminder of how precious and sensitive our health is.

I have friends who work in very sedentary, inactive jobs that require a lot of sitting down at a desk in front of the computer for hours at a time. And this, as I have now found out personally, increases your chances of suffering with hemorrhoids.

I visited my doctor and was prescribed the hemorrhoid cream, Tucks® Hemorrhoidal Ointment. (You can read my story in my article on the truth about hemorrhoid creams). I had a mild form of first degree hemorrhoids, and I was told that cream would cure my condition promptly. Great!

A friend of mine, however, was not so fortunate. He had suffered with hemorrhoids for over a decade, and at one point had such as serious condition that his doctor referred him to surgery. He had been diagnosed with a thrombosed external hemorrhoid.

In hindsight, he had brought it on himself. He worked in the IT department of a large corporate firm and had even less exercise than me! Outside of work he loved cars, movies and, he’ll forgive me for saying this, anything that didn’t require lifting a leg.

His ordeal took place over 5 years before my hemorrhoids experience and so I was well aware of the dangers that I could have been getting myself into if my condition was more severe. Here is his personal account…

What happens when surgery goes wrong? (VERY wrong)

Ted Baxter (I changed his name for privacy) wasn’t aware of the dangers that surgery posed. But he was in so much discomfort, even with a cupboard full of expensive treatments, that had he known about the risks, he wouldn’t have bat an eyelid. He remembers his doctor taking him through the risks, and he remembers signing a form in the hospital before the fateful surgery, but he’d had enough of the pain – anything was better than nothing at this point.

Before his surgery he followed the same old procedures prior to a general anaesthetic. No food or drink the day before surgery, and those familiar nerves you get before any new experience of notable significance.

Ted had been under general anaesthetic before, when he was 19. He’d been in a car accident and broken his scapula – the shoulder blade. But this was different; he couldn’t vividly remember his earlier clash with surgery but was entirely conscious this time around.

Ted was having the hemorrhoidectomy, the only form of hemorrhoid surgery that requires a general anaesthetic, and it was now time to go into theatre. His family gave their support and he went into theatre where he was given the anesthesia through a breathing mask. This was it.

The surgery went well, it only took an hour. He was actually in relative comfort to what he had experienced before with the thrombosed external hemorrhoid. However, he was pumped full of steroids so the pain had been numbed temporarily.

The nurse came in to see him afterwards giving him pain killing drugs to take home, and some valuable advice. She said:

1.	Eat highly fibrous foods and plenty of water to help prevent constipation – click the following link to see a list of highly fibrous foods.
2.	Have 3 sitz baths a day – sitz baths are mini baths that you fill with lukewarm water and dip your wound in for around 15 minutes at a time. Alternatively, you can use your normal bath but you’ll use more water. As a little tip, you can add essential oils to the water to make it more healing.

Finally, he was happily allowed to go home with his family on the same day.

It was a couple of days after the surgery that things started to go downhill…

Ted was using the drugs as directed but there was a problem. He felt the need to pass urine but couldn’t actually go. Worst of all, it was getting more and more painful as his need to use the bathroom grew more urgent.

A doctor was called out and it was suspected he was suffering with a condition known as cystitis, a type of urinary tract infection which was caused by the use of a non-sterile catheter. (A thin flexible tube inserted into the body).

The doctor was right, it was cystitis.

He was given more drugs and gradually was able to pass urine and relieve the pressure from his bowels – but not without a jolting pain everytime he passed urine.

To this day, while he doesn’t suffer with hemorrhoids anymore (his lifestyle is A LOT healthier these days) he has adopted another list of health problems. When he needs ‘to go’, he needs to go – he can’t wait. And although it’s no longer painful to pass urine he says that he needs to ‘push’ which adds strain to his body.

Grading Piles

Through grading the different stages of hemorrhoids it’s possible to identify how severe your condition is. As with many health problems it’s often not simply a question of whether you have it or not – after all, you can have a ‘good’ cold and a ‘bad’ cold!

The symptoms you experience place you into a category, which then determine what your next course of action should be.

Not only is this for your information (dare I say peace of mind) but it’s for your doctor’s too.

He/she will inspect the problem area with a proctoscope (an endoscope for examining the rectum) where a conclusion can be made about:

How severe the hemorrhoid(s) is/are
Whether it’s internal or external
And what the recommended treatment is

Grades	Hemorrhoidal Symptoms
First Degree:	First degree piles are generally not painful as there are no pain receptors inside the rectum. Hemorrhoids at this level are considered mild and this was was I was diagnosed with. Treatment Options: Diet and exercise that doesn’t involve straining only – quick and painless.
Second Degree:	Second degree piles protrude out when you are having a bowel movement and retract back inside when you are resting. While irritating, many people will endure this as a result of embarrassment. Treatment Options: Diet and exercise that doesn’t involve straining – still recommended.
Third Degree:	Third degree piles protrude out with bowel movements but can be pushed back inside. Ted suffered with third degree piles for 12 years – even his wife was unaware of how severe his condition was! Treatment Options: Diet and exercise that doesn’t involve straining – with the right diet this is still the most recommended.
Fourth Degree:	Fourth degree piles can be permanently seen but cannot be pushed back inside. It’s at this point that varicose veins are so exposed to rubbing that blood loss can grow more severe and potentially lead to drastic intervention such as surgery, as in Ted’s case. Treatment Options: At this point the condition is severe and beyond the benefits of diet and exercise. A hemorrhoidectomy will most often be required. In some cases, sclerotherapy, infrared coagulation or banding may be used.

The Surgical Solutions

Method

Details

Rubber Band Ligation:

With this procedure you lie on your side with your knees held up to your chest. The Doctor will use a proctoscope for access to the anal cavity, and using forceps (small scissor-like tool to grasp small objects inaccessible to larger fingers) he/she will bound the hemorrhoid with a rubber band at the base of the varicose vein. The band causes the hemorrhoid to shrink.

Pain Level: 6/10

Hemorrhoid Surgery Recovery: It takes two to four procedures, done six to eight weeks apart to completely remove the hemorrhoid(s)

Risks: Infection, rubber band slipping off, anal fissures

Sclerotherapy

In this procedure an agent is injected in the offending varicose vein – often with the aid of ultrasound technology for accuracy. If liquid is used to dissolve the vein a very thin needle is used, but if foam is used (wider reach that liquid alone) a syringe is used.

Pain Level: 4/10

Hemorrhoid Surgery Recovery: Procedure takes 15 – 30 minutes. Then allow 3 – 5 weeks while the offending varicose vein dissolves.

Risks: Allergic reaction, skin necrosis, anal fissures

Cryotherapy:

Liquid nitrogen, a very cold substance, (−196 °C; −321 °F) is used to freeze the offending vein and eradicate all disease. It’s popular because the side effects are low.

Pain Level: 3/10 – possibly a little soreness

Hemorrhoid Surgery Recovery: Could require more than one treatment – 3 days to 3 weeks

Risks: Very low risk but if a mistake is made, liquid nitrogen can be very dangerous indeed. Precautions are generally taken.

Infrared/Light Coagulation:

This procedure is super fast and well accepted by patients. A powerful laser is used to effectively burn off the hemorrhoid and turn it into scar tissue.

Pain Level: 3/10 – possibly a little soreness

Hemorrhoid Surgery Recovery: Depends on how many hemorrhoids you have – usually one session per hemorrhoid.

Risks: Very low risk unless a mistake is made in the procedure. Precautions are generally taken.

Hemorrhoidectomy:

This solution is really the last resort because it is the most severe – it’s the only operation that requires a general anesthetic. While generally it’s day surgery it should only be an option if you have been diagnosed with fourth degree hemorrhoids by your doctor.

Pain Level: 9/10

Hemorrhoid Surgery Recovery: 2 weeks – 2 months

Risks: Possible infection, pain, bleeding, and an inability to urinate

Here’s a great video I found on the hemorrhoidectomy. Midway through it visually explains the differences between the grades incase the above explanation wasn’t clear:

Should you, or Shouldn’t you?

I’m not beating around the bush here; I am steadfast against hemorrhoid surgery of any kind. So much so that I have listed 5 reasons why you shouldn’t have hemorrhoid surgery below:

1.	Because you may suffer long-term, not just short-term.
2.	Because treating yourself naturally will cure you just as effectively, if not more so – and that’s if the surgery goes well.
3.	Because you can have a reaction to general anaesthesia alone.
4.	Because hemorrhoid surgery recovery takes time. You have to put your entire life on hold for weeks, if not months.
5.	Because a great diet and exercise program for hemorrhoids is a great lifestyle for your whole body. Not only will you overcome hemorrhoids but you will begin seeing better results in all areas of your life.

Having said this, there is one exception. When your condition is so severe that no amount of natural treatment will bring you back to your normal self, immediate surgery can be the only option you have.

My friend, Ted, suffered with a very painful thrombosed external hemorrhoid which was classed as a fourth degree hemorrhoid. But, there are two reasons I can give you that will put your mind at rest:

a.	It is very rare to have a condition as serious as Ted’s, but if he had been responsible and changed his lifestyle, he could have started a new diet and become more active. His condition would have been far less severe and he probably wouldn’t be reaping the consequences now.
b.	The complications that Ted experienced can happen, but they are very, very rare.

To finish up here, hemorrhoid surgery may be a last resort and can cure your hemorrhoids. But such is the risk you are taking; a natural, holistic approach is almost always going to be more beneficial to you – both in the short-term and the long-term.

I recommend that you find a professional guide that explores both the optimal diet and safest exercises you can do as a sufferer of hemorrhoids. Following a proven regime will give you the very best chance of becoming cured once and for all. And it will allow you to lead a normal life again, without having to worry about hemorrhoids coming back.