Stapled hemorrhoidopexy
Stapled hemorrhoidopexy, is a surgical procedure that involves the removal of abnormally enlarged hemorrhoidal tissue, followed by the repositioning of the remaining hemorrhoidal tissue back to its normal anatomic position. Severe cases of hemorrhoidal prolapse will normally require surgery. Newer surgical procedures include stapled transanal rectal resection (STARR) and procedure for prolapse and hemorrhoids (PPH). Both STARR and PPH are contraindicated in persons with either enterocele or anismus.[1]
| Stapled hemorrhoidopexy | |
|---|---|
 Illustration of Stapled hemorrhoidopexy | |
| Other names | Stapled hemorrhoidectomy |
| Specialty | gastroenterology |
A lot of experienced surgeons say that Stapled Hemorhoidoctomy should be discontinued and should be banned by FDA. Conventional Hemorhoidoctomy (excision of hemorrhoids) is the Gold Standard for internal hemorrhoids and not Stapled hemorhoidoctomy.
During the procedure a circular piece of anal cushion also referred to as hemorrhoidal vascular cushions or seal cushion or donut ring is cut whose function is to seal stools when you are not next to the loo and have to hold for long. The anal sphincter pulls the stools up and the circular anal cushion fills with blood, expands and seals the stools.
Side effects include life time fecal urgency, stenosis, anal fissures, spasms and rectal stricture in some patients. Those who worry too much about fecal urgency reduce eating and cut down on travelling and sit more at home. Others stoped eating lunch during working hours. This procedure should not be done if you are very active and travel alot.
Some patients who have done both conventional hemorhoidoctomy and stapled hemorhoidoctomy say that stapled hemorhoidoctomy is 20 times more painful than conventional hemorhoidoctomy as a very big piece of flesh is cut compared to conventional hemorhoidoctomy and bleeding and pain stays for four months.
The internal hemorrhoids grow on the lower part of the anal cushion. Normal cutting of hemorrhoids or rubber band ligation is safer procedure rather than stapled hemorhoidoctomy with no long term lifelong side effects such as stenosis (tightness) of sphincter or fecal urgency.
When the circular flesh (hemorhoidal cushion) is cut with the machine immediately 28 titanium staples of 33mm in length are placed twice which is 56 staples from the machine to stop the bleeding.
The sphincter muscle is pulled up due to tight stapling causing tightness and discomfort making sphincter muscle extremely tight. The flexibility, bending and moving space is not there in the anal canal due to the tightness caused by staples.
The staples should fall off overtime with the stools but some staples don't fall and remain for years causing problems and pain for which you have to do another procedure called agraffectomy to remove any retained staples which is costly, inconvenient and which very few surgeons know about. You might have to also cut the scar tissue (surgery area) to bring sphincter down. During agraffectomy they remove the staples and cut the scar tissue. If they restitch the scar tissue to stop the bleeding the sphincter muscle can go up again so better to cut the scar tissue with laser so no bleeding is there and no need to put sutures and anal sphincter can come to its original position.
The muscles of the anal canal are damaged due to stapled hemorrhoidctomy and your holding power can be effected drastically and cause stenosis due to the damage. You can develop anal fissure in the sphincter muscle due to tightness which will give you spasms and force you to do sphincterectomy (cutting of sphincter muscle) which can cause permanent incontinence. In most cases dilatation doesn't work. Fissurectomy (removing external skin on anal verge) may help to remove tightness but muscles may become tight again.
If the scar tissue heals before all staples have not fallen, the sphincter muscle can remain up and in wrong position and a small difference of 1 cm from its original position can cause major tightness and discomfort. The stenosis may narrow the sphincter opening and can cause you to have very narrow stools.
You might have to do multiple surgeries due to stapled hemorrhoidctomy such as dilatation, fissurectomy, sphincterectomy, agraffectomy, strictureoplasty, Stapled trans anal rectal resection (starr) and anoplasty. Most patients overtime loose bowel control due to multiple surgeries.
Alot of patients say that they can't travel or eat in peace due to worrying about fecal urgency after stapled hemorrhoidctomy. Some cut down on eating food volume and others skip lunch during working hours so they don't have to worry about fecal urgency.
A lot of experienced surgeons believe that Stapled Hemorrhoidctomy should be discontinued and should be banned by FDA. Conventional Hemorrhoidctomy (excision of hemorrhoids) is the Gold Standard and not Stapled Hemorrhoidctomy.
Background
Hemorrhoids are amongst the most common anal disorders. Patients may complain of bleeding, prolapse, personal discomfort and minor anal leakage. Where traditional non-surgical measures such as rest, suppositories and dietary advice fail to improve the condition, there is then a choice of further treatments. Opinion on the best management for patients varies considerably. While many treatments for hemorrhoids may be performed without anesthetics, the lasting effect of these conservative therapies has been questioned. Many patients treated with rubber band ligation or injection sclerotherapy require multiple treatments and there is high recurrence rate following these procedures.
Conventional hemorrhoidectomy provides permanent symptomatic relief for most patients, and effectively treats any external component of the hemorrhoids. However, the wounds created by the surgery are usually associated with considerable post-operative pain which necessitates a prolonged recovery period. This can put a stress on a general practitioner’s resources, may alienate the patient and delays the patient’s return to a full, normal lifestyle and the workplace. Because of this, surgeons will generally reserve formal excision for the most severe cases of prolapse, or for patients who have failed to respond to conventional treatments.
Stapled transanal rectal resection (STARR)
Obstructed defecation syndrome (ODS) can be caused by structural deformities in the rectum resulting in chronic constipation. STARR can treat ODS using minimally invasive methods. STARR is a surgical procedure that is performed through the anus, requires no external incisions, and leaves no visible scars. Using a surgical stapler, the procedure removes the excess tissue in the rectum, reducing the anatomical defects that can cause ODS.
In a study of 90 patients undergoing the STARR procedure, patients were hospitalized one to three days, experienced minimal postoperative pain after the procedure, and resumed employment or normal activity in 6 to 15 days. In this study, most ODS patients experienced a significant improvement in their ODS symptoms following STARR.
Procedure for Prolapse and Hemorrhoids (PPH)
PPH uses a circular stapler to reduce the degree of prolapse. The procedure avoids the need for wounds in the sensitive perianal area thus reducing post-operative pain considerably, and facilitates a speedier return to normal activities.[2][3][4]
Development
This procedure was first described by an Italian surgeon – Dr. Antonio Longo, Department of Surgery, University of Palermo – in 1993 and since then has been widely adopted through Europe. This procedure avoids the need for wounds in the sensitive perianal area and, as a result, has the advantage of significantly reducing the patient’s post operative pain.[2][3][4] Follow-up on relief of symptoms indicate a similar success rate to that achieved by conventional haemorrhoidectomy.[2][5] Since PPH was first introduced it has been the subject of numerous clinical trials and in 2003 the National Institute of Clinical Evidence (NICE) in the UK issued full guidance on the procedure stating it was safe and efficacious.
Indications
PPH is generally indicated for the more severe cases of internal hemorrhoidal prolapse (3rd and 4th degree) where surgery would normally be indicated. It may also be indicated for patients with minor degree haemorrhoids who have failed to respond to conservative treatments. The procedure may be contra-indicated when only one cushion is prolapsed or in severe cases of fibrotic piles which cannot be physically repositioned.
In addition to correcting the symptoms associated with the prolapse, problems with bleeding from the piles are also resolved by this excision. Although the cushions may be totally or partially preserved, the blood supply is interrupted or venous drainage is improved by the repositioning. Any external component which remains will usually regress over a period of 3–6 months. Prominent skin tags may, on occasion, be removed during the operation but this may increase the postoperative pain so is not routinely performed.
Procedure
PPH employs a unique circular stapler which reduces the degree of prolapse by excising a circumferential strip of mucosa from the proximal anal canal. This has the effect of pulling the hemorrhoidal cushions back up into their normal anatomical position. Usually the patient will be under general anesthetic, but only for 20–30 minutes. Many cases have been successfully performed under local or regional anesthesia and the procedure is suited to day case treatment.
Post operative course
Due to the low level of post-operative pain and reduced analgesic use, patients will usually be discharged either the same day or on the day following surgery. Most patients can resume normal activities after a few days when they should be fit for work. The first bowel motion is usually on day two and should not cause any great discomfort. Staples may be passed from time to time during defecation. This is normal and should not be a cause for concern.
Post-operative complications
Since 2002 more than 100 articles have been published reporting complications during and after stapled hemorrhoidectomy.
Short-term complications
Bleeding is the most common postoperative complication. Severe postoperative pain could be caused by dehiscence of the anastomosis or due to the fact that the anastomosis is too near to the linea dentata. A rare complication stemming from PPH is intra-abdominal bleeding.[6]
Long-term complications
Many long-term complications have been described. Most of them are related to either an incorrect indication for surgery or technical errors. Several authors stated that although it seems to be an easy operation to perform, it should only be done by experienced surgeons. Severe complications leading to death have been described but are rare. Irreversible urge incontinence due to lesions of the sphincter muscle or a diminished rectal capacity due to resection of too much mucosa, are quite common complications if the procedure is not performed properly. Rectovaginal fistulas and anastomotic diverticula are very rare but possible.
References
- Pescatori M, Gagliardi G (March 2008). "Postoperative complications after procedure for prolapsed hemorrhoids (PPH) and stapled transanal rectal resection (STARR) procedures". Tech Coloproctol. 12 (1): 7–19. doi:10.1007/s10151-008-0391-0. PMC 2778725. PMID 18512007.
- Racalbuto, A. et al. Hemorrhoidal stapled prolapsectomy vs. Milligan-Morgan hemorrhoidectomy: a long-term randomized trial. International Journal of Colorectal Disease, 2004; 19: 239-244
- Rowsell, M., Bello, M., Hemmingway, D.M. Circumfrential mucosectomy (stapled hemorrhoidectomy) vs. conventional haemorrhoidectomy: randomised controlled trial. The Lancet, 4 March 2004; 355: 779-781
- Boccasanta, P. et al. RCT between stapled circumferential mucosectomy and conventional circular hemorrhoidectomy on advanced hemorrhoids with external mucosal prolapse. American Journal of Surgery, 2001; 182(1): 64-68
- Ganio, E., Altomare, D.F., Gabrielli F., et al. Prospective randomised multicentre trial comparing stapled with open haemorrhoidectomy. British Journal of Surgery, 2001; 88: 669-674
- Safadi, W.; Altshuler, A.; Kiv, S.; Waksman, I. (30 October 2014). "Severe retroperitoneal and intra-abdominal bleeding after stapling procedure for prolapsed haemorrhoids (PPH); diagnosis, treatment and 6-year follow-up of the case". Case Reports. 2014 (oct30 1): bcr2014205935. doi:10.1136/bcr-2014-205935. PMC 4216878. PMID 25358832.