Abstract
Background
We report the results of 2-year regular use of the hemorrhoidal laser procedure (HeLP)
in 97 patients with symptomatic second- to third-grade hemorrhoids with minimal or
moderate internal mucosal prolapse.
Methods
Data on duration of the procedure, perioperative complications, postoperative pain,
downgrading of hemorrhoids, resolution or persistency, and recurrence of hemorrhoidal
disease (HD) were prospectively collected.
Results
No significant intraoperative complications occurred. The median follow-up was 15 months.
Postoperative pain was null in most patients. There were no cases of rectal tenesmus
or alteration of defecation habits. Symptoms and HD downgrading reached a “plateau”
at 3 to 6 months after the HeLP. At this evaluation, frequency of bleeding, pain,
itching, and hemorrhoidal acute syndrome decreased by 76% to 79%. HD grade showed
a significant reduction. HD recurrence rate was 5% at 2 years.
Conclusions
Our study demonstrates that the HeLP is a safe, effective, and painless technique
for the treatment of symptomatic second- to third-grade hemorrhoids with minimal or
moderate mucosal prolapse, ideally suitable as ambulatory treatment.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 17, 2014
Received in revised form:
October 9,
2013
Received:
June 11,
2013
Footnotes
The authors have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
