Hemochromatosis.
The mainstay of treatment for hemochromatosis is therapeutic phlebotomy. The procedure is safe, effective, and relatively cheap. Deferoxamine (iron chelation) is necessary only in iron-loaded individuals who cannot undergo therapeutic phlebotomy. If therapy is initiated before complications develop, it is expected that no complications will ever develop.
Bacon
BR
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 3635 Vista Avenue at Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63110-0150.