RUBBER BAND LIGATION OF HEMORRHOIDS - CONVENIENT AND ECONOMIC TREATMENT

We have reviewed and summarized 12 years of experience in treating hem orrhoids, 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 c onvenient treatment we can save hundreds of hospitalization days and t housands of sick-leave days per year.