Hemorrhoids or Piles has become one of the most common diseases. Almost half of the population will encounter hemorrhoids by the age of 50. Incidence of hemorrhoids is more in men compared to women at occurs mostly between the ages of 45 to 65.
Surgical removal and Rubber band ligation (RBL) are the mostly used procedure for treatment of hemorrhoids. Surgical removal of severe hemorrhoids is more effective in the long run than tying them off with rubber bands, a less invasive treatment alternative, according to a new review of studies. RBL procedures involves placing rubber bands around the base of the hemorrhoid, causing a break in circulation, causing the hemorrhoid to whither within two weeks. Though this procedure is effective, surgery has a better overall cure rate compared to RBL, as patients undergoing RBL procedures requires future treatment. The result of the study published by Researcher Venkatesh Shanmugam from Aberdeen University was published in the July issue of The Cochrane Library.Scott Thornton, M.D., a surgeon at Bridgeport Hospital in Connecticut and an assistant professor at Yale University School of Medicine, says that RBL involves "pain of half the volume and duration" of surgery. He says that RBL prompts complications in only about 1 percent of cases as compared with surgery, which prompts complications in 5 percent to 8 percent of cases.
Hemorrhoids are classified by degree of severity, into first, second, third and fourth degree. The fourth degree disease being the worst. The results of the review suggests that surgery might be adopted as a treatment of choice for hemorrhoids classified as third or fourth degree and those that re-occur after RBL, and that RBL might be adopted as a treatment of choice for first- or second-degree hemorrhoids. Dietary adjustments and ointments give better prognosis for first-degree hemorrhoids.
Related Information on Piles in Medindia:
Piles are abnormally enlarged and dilated blood vessels (mainly veins) around the back passage or anus. Piles are also known as "hemorrhoids". Hemorrhoids occur in both men and women most often between the ages of 20 and 50.
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