Rubber band ligation of hemorrhoids. Convenient and economic treatment.

We have reviewed and summarized 12 years of experience in treating hemorrhoids, a condition that affects 4.4% of the Western population, of whom a third are symptomatic and need treatment. During this time, in a proctological outpatient clinic of an urban hospital, 2,934 patients with second- and third-degree hemorrhoids were treated by rubber band ligation (RBL), usually one ligation per session. Of these patients, 79% were completely cured, 18% needed one or more additional sessions of treatment, and 2.1% failed to be cured by RBL and were referred for conventional hemorrhoidectomy. We found that by using this safe and convenient treatment we can save hundreds of hospitalization days and thousands of sick-leave days per year.

Improvement of rat survival and liver mitochondrial function in biliary obstruction after treatment with sodium thiosulfate.

The exact cause of liver failure occurring after long standing biliary obstruction is not known. Impairment of hepatic mitochondrial respiration was postulated in some studies. Sodium thiosulphate (STS) is known to have a protective effect on liver function during administration of hepatotoxic chemotherapy. In the present experimental study the effect of treatment with STS in the presence of obstructive jaundice was studied by determination of the survival rate of rats subjected to biliary obstruction and by polarographic determination of the hepatic mitochondrial function. Treatment with STS was found to result in a significant improvement in rats' survival rate (p < 0.05). Polarography demonstrated significant preservation of mitochondrial respiratory capacity after treatment with STS. The results of the present study show that the deterioration in liver function in the presence of biliary obstruction is probably caused by impairment of mitochondrial respiration. This may be preserved by treatment with STS. The exact explanation of its effect is not yet clear.