Treatment Options for Piles/Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids are swollen veins in the lowest part of your rectum and anus. They occur when the blood vessel walls stretch and are thin and allow the veins to bulge and become irritated. Internal hemorrhoids usually cannot be seen, as they are far inside the rectum. The only way a person knows they have them is from bleeding. External hemorrhoids are under the skin around the anus. Due to the many nerves in this area, external hemorrhoids usually hurt. However, do not hesitate to consult an expert to be sure.

There are several treatment options for hemorrhoids. Let’s discuss the options one by one.

Home Remedies

Mild pain, swelling, and inflammation of hemorrhoids may be relieved by home treatments such as:

• Eating high-fiber foods. Eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Doing so softens the stool and increases its bulk, which will help you avoid the straining that can worsen symptoms from existing hemorrhoids. Add fiber to your diet slowly to avoid problems with gas.
• Using topical treatments. Apply an over-the-counter hemorrhoid cream or suppository containing hydrocortisone, or use pads containing witch hazel or a numbing agent.
• Soak regularly in a warm bath or sitz bath. Soak your anal area in plain warm water for 10 to 15 minutes two to three times a day. A sitz bath fits over the toilet.
• Oral pain relievers. You can use acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), aspirin, or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) temporarily to help relieve your discomfort.

With these treatments, hemorrhoid symptoms often go away within a week. See your doctor in a week if you don’t get relief, or sooner if you have severe pain or bleeding.

Medications

If your hemorrhoids produce only mild discomfort, your doctor might suggest over-the-counter creams, ointments, suppositories, or pads. These products contain ingredients such as witch hazel, hydrocortisone, and lidocaine, which can temporarily relieve pain and itching.

Don’t use an over-the-counter steroid cream for more than a week unless directed by your doctor because it can thin your skin.

Rubber Band Ligation

Your doctor places one or two tiny rubber bands around the base of an internal hemorrhoid to cut off its circulation. The hemorrhoid withers and falls off within a week. Hemorrhoid banding can be uncomfortable and cause bleeding, which might begin two to four days after the procedure but is rarely severe. Occasionally, more serious complications can occur.

Injection (sclerotherapy)

Your doctor injects a chemical solution into the hemorrhoid tissue to shrink it. It is even less effective than rubber band ligation.

Open Hemorrhoidectomy

By choosing one of the various techniques, your surgeon removes excessive tissue that causes bleeding. The surgery can be done with local anesthesia combined with sedation, spinal anesthesia, or general anesthesia. Complications may include temporary difficulty emptying your bladder, which can result in urinary tract infections. Most people have pain after the procedure.

Stapler Hemorrhoidectomy

Stapler hemorrhoidectomy blocks blood flow to hemorrhoidal tissue. It is typically used only for internal hemorrhoids. Stapler hemorrhoidectomy has been associated with a greater risk of recurrence and rectal prolapse, in which part of the rectum protrudes from the anus. Complications may also include bleeding, urinary retention, and pain, as well as, rarely, a life-threatening blood infection (sepsis).

The newest advancement in the treatment of hemorrhoids is laser surgery. Laser surgery has far better results than any other treatment method and has next to no complications compared to any other treatment methodology.

Laser Surgery for Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoid laser procedure (LHP) is a new laser procedure for outpatient treatment of hemorrhoids in which hemorrhoidal arterial flow feeding the hemorrhoidal plexus is stopped by laser coagulation. LHP provides you with an improved patient outcome especially regarding pain and recovery compared to conventional surgical proceedings for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-degree hemorrhoids.

Access into the hemorrhoid is achieved by entering through a small perianal port. By this approach, no wounds are generated in the area of the anoderm or mucosa. As a result, the patient experiences less post-operative pain and can return to normal activities within a shorter space of time.

Under proper local or general anesthesia, the controlled laser energy delivery obliterates the hemorrhoids from inside and preserves the mucosa and sphincter structures to an extremely high degree (Tissue reduction in the hemorrhoids).

The controlled emission of laser energy, which is applied submucosally, causes the hemorrhoidal mass to shrink. In addition, fibrotic reconstruction generates new connective tissue, which ensures that the mucosa adheres to the underlying tissue. This also prevents the occurrence or recurrence of prolapse. LHP is not associated with any risk of stenosis. Healing/result is excellent because, unlike conventional surgeries, there are no incisions/cuts or stitches.

Laser treatment offers several advantages over conventional piles surgery methods. Laser piles treatment does not involve any big cuts, making the procedure bloodless & painless. A laser fiber is inserted inside the hemorrhoidal mass making the procedure minimally invasive. The procedure lasts 30-40 minutes allowing it to be done as a daycare procedure. As there is only a single point of entry for the fiber, the procedure leaves minimal scarring and may be termed scarless and requires no suture afterward.

Consult your surgeon to choose the best possible alternative for you! Or visit Laser360clinc.com to schedule an appointment with our experienced laser surgeons!