A hemorrhoid is a painful and embarrassing condition wherein the patient experiences pain in the anal region while sitting. This often disturbs his day to day activities. The patient often experiences bleeding while defecation. The patient may become anemic with continuous bleeding per rectum for years.
A hemorrhoid can be treated by various methods like herbal treatments, medical treatments, injection sclerotherapy, and electro cauterization of the hemorrhoid, hemorrhoidectomy or a laser hemorrhoidectomy. The indications for each of these procedures differ accordingly.
A laser hemorrhoidectomy is definitely a right procedure when it is being conducted on the right candidate. The right candidate for a laser hemorrhoidectomy is one who has an acute hemorrhoid or one who is suffering from recurrent attacks of hemorrhoids.
The laser hemorrhoidectomy has proven a promising effect in most of the patients who have undergone this procedure. The laser hemorrhoidectomy involves the usage of laser which is very precise. It can be done as an outpatient procedure in the surgeon’s office. The laser hemorrhoidectomy involves the removal of the hemorrhoids using CO2 laser beam. It is done under local anesthesia.
The laser hemorrhoidectomy which involves the laser beam is a very precise procedure. In the laser hemorrhoidectomy the laser beam used is very thin and precise. It burns out only the excessively grown tissue without damaging the normal tissues around.
In the laser hemorrhoidectomy the nerve endings and the small blood vessels supplying the hemorrhoid are also burnt out. This reduces the pain after the laser hemorrhoidectomy. It also provides a bloodless field for the surgeon to operate. The laser user in laser hemorrhoidectomy does not emit spark or smoke which hinders the surgeon’s vision.
The cost of a laser hemorrhoidectomy is comparatively cheaper as it does not involve long hospital stays. Also the patient will be completely all right within 5-7 days. A patient undergoing conventional hemorrhoidectomy or an electrocautery should stay in the hospital for longer periods. Also the post operative pain and infections are more in these procedures when compared to laser hemorrhoidectomy.
The healing of wound after a laser hemorrhoidectomy is amazing and it hardly takes a week to get completely cured. There are very minimal chances of post operative wound infections.
When there are advantages, there are a few disadvantages too with the laser hemorrhoidectomy. The chances for recurrence is said to be 1 in 200 patients, which is considered to be higher when compared to the other type of hemorrhoid treatments. Due to the recurrent hemorrhoids, the patients may have to undergo repeated treatments and surgeries which cost a lot and also it is embarrassing for the patients.
Even though there are a few disadvantages, the advantages of the laser hemorrhoidectomy outweigh the disadvantages. The laser technique which is used in a number of surgical procedures successfully is also being used in the laser hemorrhoidectomy with the same success and efficiency. The laser hemorrhoidectomy has proved itself to be the best treatment for hemorrhoids with the patient satisfaction of about 99%.