A retrospective analysis of short and long term efficacy of RBL for hemorrhoids

L.Y. Lu, Y. Zhu, Q. Sun

Department of TCM for Anorectal Disease, Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao tong University, Shanghai, China. linyuanlu01@gmail.com

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• Surgery

AIMS: Rubber band ligation is an effective treatment for hemorrhoids. A retrospective analysis was performed to evaluate its short and long-term efficacy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: From 2000 to 2008, 254 outpatients with II- degree and 114 with III-degree hemorrhoids underwent rubber band ligation. Two or three hemorrhoids were ligated per session. Each haemorrhoid was ligated with two rubber bands through a ligator. All patients were visited after two months and followed up through a telephone after two and eleven years.

RESULTS: Twenty-four or forty-eight hours post treatment, 41% of patients had mild-moderate pain. Four patients showed severe pain and required for haemorrhoidectomy within a few days. Only 2% of patients experienced self-limiting rectal bleeding after one week and 6% of patients had an additional ligation within two months. Two months later, 92% of II-degree patients and 76% of III-degree patients showed no residual symptoms. After two and eleven years, the history of 314 patients (85%) were obtained, of them, 70% was asymptomatic, 27% had some residual symptoms of occasional bleeding and prolapse, and 3% needed further surgery.

CONCLUSIONS: Rubber band ligation is an efficient, cost-effective and simple outpatient procedure for the second and third degree hemorrhoids with minimal complications.

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