Outcome of a modified Park's submucosal hemorrhoidectomy versus Milligan-Morgan for grade III-IV circumferential prolapsed hemorrhoids.

BACKGROUND: This prospective randomized controlled study compared the short- and long-term efficacy and advantages of modified Park's submucosal over Milligan-Morgan hemorrhoidectomy (MMH) in the treatment of grade III and IV circumferential prolapsed hemorrhoids (CPH). METHODS: A total of 186 consecutive patients with grade III or IV CPH were enrolled. The patients were randomized to MPSH (n = 93) or MMH (n = 93) treatment groups. Patient data included demographics, clinical characteristics, surgical parameters, underlying or arising complications, and CPH recurrence. The patients were closely followed up for at least 24 months. RESULTS: The patient demographic data and clinical parameters were comparable in the two groups (P > 0.05). MPSH took significantly longer operative time (P < 0.05). Although there was no significant difference in mean postoperative pain between the two groups at days 3 and 14, pain at day 7 was significantly more frequent and severe in the MMH group (P < 0.05). There were no significant group differences in postoperative bleeding, intraoperative blood loss, or development of anal stenosis (P > 0.05). However, the cumulative relapse-free rate was substantially higher in the MPSH group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: MPSH and MMH are both practical and safe techniques for treating grade III and IV CPH disease. However, MPSH is safer, easier, and faster to perform and is associated with fewer recurrences within 24 months of surgery. Additional clinical studies are needed to validate these conclusions.

Open Hemorrhoidectomy

The open hemorrhoidectomy has been recognized as the treatment of choice for symptomatic prolapsing hemorrhoids. Although the open hemorrhoidectomy is thought to be associated with more postoperative pain and delayed wound healing compared with other conventional procedures such as a closed hemorrhoidectomy, and a semi- closed or submucosal hemorrhoidectomy, it is still unclear which procedure is preferable in terms of postoperative pain, wound healing, hospital stay, and time off work. To address this issue, several studies have been performed. According to randomized controlled studies comparing an open hemorrhoidectomy to a closed hemorrhoidectomy, there are no significant differences in the severity of pain and the hospital stay between the two procedures; however, the healing time in the closed hemorrhoidectomy is faster and the operation time in the open hemorrhoidectomy is shorter. Since there are few randomized controlled studies comparing an open hemorrhoidectomy with a semi-closed hemorrhoidectomy or submucosal hemorrhoidectomy, it is difficult to conclude which procedure is superior to the others. Yet, there seems to be no significant difference between these procedures. In 1998, a novel procedure, a stapled hemorrhoidopexy, was introduced by Longo. Several randomized controlled studies comparing the open hemorrhoidectomy with the stapled hemorrhoidopexy showed that the latter was associated with less pain, shorter hospital stay, and earlier return to work. However, considering the lack of long- term data and the disastrous complications, such as retroperitoneal sepsis and rectal perforation, there is still controversy about its efficacy and safety as a definitive treatment of hemorrhoids. The open hemorrhoidectomy is time-tested and is comparable to other conventional techniques in terms of postoperative pain, hospital stay, and time off work. Further study should be performed to assess the long-term results of a stapled hemorrhoidopexy.

Lift-up Submucosal Hemorrhoidectomy

PURPOSE: Hemorrhoidal tissues are normal anatomic structures present in every individual, and they act as cushions and are anchored to the internal anal sphincter by a connective tissue system. When the anchoring connective tissues undergo bears degenerative changes, the hemorrhoids not only bulge but also descend into the lumen of the anal canal. The veins also become distended. The previous hemorrhoidectomy methods (excision and ligation methods) tend to remove excessive amounts of hemorrhoidal tissues, possibly causing incontinence or stenosis. This study introduces a modified hemorrhoidectomy method. METHODS: A retrospective study was done with 650 patients (358 males, 292 females) who underwent hemorroidectomies from Jan. 1997 to Jan. 2000. Under saddle-block anesthesia, the patient was placed in a prone jack-knife position. After narrow incisions on the mucosa of the selected pile, a bilateral submucosal dissection was performed. The pedicle was ligated by transfixing sutures 2 or 3 times with 2-0 chromic catgut to lift up the mucosa. RESULTS: The mean operation time per hemorrhoidal pile was 12.7 minutes, and the mean hospital-stay was 4.3 days. Acute and delayed postoperative anal bleeding occurred in 7 (1.1%) and 3 (0.5%) patients, respectively. The symptoms of both subsided spontaneously. Ninety-three (93) patients (14.3%) reguired nelaton catheterization for voiding difficulty, and one patient (0.2%) showed mild anal stenosis. The most frequent complaint was skin-tag formation (148 cases, 22.8%). In 140 cases, the skin tag was removed under local anesthesia. CONCLUSIONS: It is desirable to keep the normal structure of the anal canal by removing as little of the cushions as possible. Our 'lift-up submucosal hemorrhoidectomy' shows good results and is an easy operative method when compared with Parks' original method.