Call In The Proctologist!
Hemorrhoids. Everything has failed. All forms of home therapy have not worked. Your colorectal surgeon (also known as a proctologist) has tried all of the office tricks and procedures without success, and you are still miserable. What next? Is there an operation in your future?
Your coloproctologist will probably suggest that either you learn to live with your hemorrhoids or that you have an elective, outpatient procedure to cure the problem. The mere thought of a hemorrhoidal operation may conjure up the worst thoughts of pain and misery in your postoperative recovery period and for good reason. An open hemorrhoidectomy, the original surgical treatment for stubbornly symptomatic hemorrhoidal disease, was often a painful cure. But now, in the modern era of treatment, this needn’t be the case.
Hemorrhoids. You Have Them. The Proctologist Can Treat Them
Hemorrhoids are a collection of veins, arteries, nerves, and connective tissue. They encircle the anal opening. Interestingly, they are normal and present in all of us. They help to smooth the passage of stools. However, when they enlarge, for whatever reason, they stretch the overlying lining, causing symptoms of pain, itching, bleeding, or discharge. When your colorectal surgeon has determined that your problem is indeed hemorrhoidal, and not due to another, more serious disease, and when all other forms of treatment have failed to solve the problem, it may be recommended that you undergo a hemorrhoidectomy. What are your surgical options in Los Angeles or Beverly Hills?
You Have Choices.
- A surgical, open hemorrhoidectomy, although the recovery period may be associated with pain, addresses a straightforward problem—a tangled mass of hemorrhoidal tissue—through a straightforward treatment: surgical excision. This treatment is usually permanent. Although the traditional hemorrhoidectomy has been supplanted by newer techniques, there remain situations in which this traditional operation is the procedure of choice.
- PPH or, the Procedure for prolapse and hemorrhoids. PPH is relatively new, having gained widespread approval in 2002. In its simplest form, as an outpatient and under anesthesia, your proctologist will replace the hemorrhoids back to their normal position. The excess tissue will be removed by a sharp knife inside of the stapler, the tissue will be repositioned to a normal anatomic location, and the lining will be stapled together using tiny titanium staples. Because the operation is performed inside the anal canal, where there are fewer pain nerves, the postoperative period is associated with a greatly diminished amount of discomfort.
- THD or Transanal Hemorrhoidal Dearterialization. Again, in an outpatient setting and under anesthesia, your coloproctologist uses an ultrasound probe to listen for the sound of blood whooshing through the hemorrhoid. With the hemorrhoid identified, it is ligated, or tied off. Then, using the same suture, the hemorrhoid is lifted back into its normal position. The postoperative period is much more comfortable than in the traditional, open hemorrhoidectomy.
Los Angeles Colon and Rectal Surgical Associates
Each procedure has its pluses and its minuses. At Los Angeles Colon and Rectal Surgical Associates, in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and Culver City, your board-certified surgeon will be able to gently examine you, advise you regarding your best course of action, and answer all of your questions in a confidential and thoughtful manner. (310)273-2310.
