title: [Stapled hemorrhoidectomy--early experience in 30 patients].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We report the early results of 30 patients treated by stapled hemorrhoidectomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty patients with symptomatic grade 2-4 hemorrhoids were treated by stapled hemorrhoidectomy. The procedure was performed with a 33 mm diameter automatic hemorrhoidal circular stapler. The patients were prospectively evaluated for immediate and functional recovery, postoperative pain and subjective success of the treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median age of the patients was 46.2 years, and the median duration of the symptoms was 27 months. The main symptom was bleeding (in 96% of the patients). The average operative time was 22 minutes. The operation was performed with spinal (63.3%) or general (36.7%) anesthesia. There was no mortality, urinary retention, incontinence, fecal urgency or persistent pain. One patient, who was under anticoagulant treatment, had postoperative bleeding, which required transfusion of 3 units of blood, and another patient was operated on because of perforation of the sigmoid colon. Most patients (twenty eight) had complete functional recovery and returned to their usual daily activities within 10.4 days. Postoperative pain and subjective success were evaluated by a 1 to 10 scale. The average pain score decreased from 5.8 on the first postoperative day to 2.4 on the 7th postoperative day. The average satisfactory score was 9.2.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Stapled hemorrhoidectomy is an alternative to conventional surgical hemorrhoidectomy. The procedure seems to be associated with less postoperative pain and early recovery with a high satisfaction rate among patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery A, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Doron
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amosi
authors.forename: Nachum
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Werbin
authors.forename: Hanoch
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kashtan
authors.forename: Yehuda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Skornik
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Greenberg
mesh_terms: D006484:Hemorrhoids / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D013537:Sutures; D016896:Treatment Outcome