title: Doppler-guided haemorrhoidal artery ligation in patients with Crohn's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The outcome of Doppler-guided haemorrhoidal artery ligation (DGHAL) was assessed in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) suffering from grade III haemorrhoids.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study was carried out of patients with CD and symptomatic Grade III haemorrhoids treated by DGHAL. Perioperative and follow-up data were retrieved from our database of patients undergoing DGHAL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study included seven men and six women. The mean age was 34 years old. All had CD without anorectal involvement. The median duration of haemorrhoidal symptoms was 6.3 years. There was no mortality, new incontinence, faecal impaction, urinary retention, abscess formation or persistent pain following the procedure. Mean pain score based on a visual analogue scale (VAS) decreased from 2.4 at 24 h postoperatively to 1.6 on the seventh postoperative day. All patients had completely recovered by the third postoperative day. At 18 months, three (77%) of the patients were asymptomatic and three had recurrent symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Doppler-guided haemorrhoidal artery ligation is safe and effective in treating Grade III haemorrhoids in patients with CD without rectal involvement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery 'A', Tel-Aviv Medical Center and the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Eliad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Karin
authors.forename: Shmuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Avital
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dotan
authors.forename: Yehuda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Skornick
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Greenberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006484:Hemorrhoids / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008026:Ligation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional