Rubber Band Ligation
Rubber band ligation was an important style of treatment that dated back to ancient times. A thread was used to cut the blood flow in patients and was also used to castrate farm animals. In the year 1958, the treatment was revived for hemorrhoid treatment by Dr. Blaisdell , and in the year 1963, an inventor named Barron created a tool used to apply the rubber bands so therefore the procedure and tool was known as Barron’s Ligature method.
Essentially, the tool allows doctors to place the bands with precision to the base of the hemorrhoidal tissue, which makes it less painful. The bands are quite small measuring in about 1 milimeter in diameter and is about 2.6 milimeters thick.
Rubber Band Ligation is a treatment for internal hemorrhoids, which is widely used. Usually, if symptoms continue after three or four rubber band ligations, then surgery is considered. There is about an 85% success rate where all sufferers report drastic relief of symptoms, or at least improvements.
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Rubber band ligation involves banding the base of the hemorrhoid to cut off blood flow until the tissue dies and falls off. It is more effective than injection sclerotherapy or infrared photocoagulation therapy. It is primarily used on small to medium sized hemorrhoids, but it is not as effective on larger ones.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive and cost effective procedure, rubber band ligation can offer this. It can be painful, and might need to be repeated in the case of recurring hemorrhoids. Surgery might be a more longer lasting route, but it can be very expensive with a long lasting recovery time.
Not all physicians are willing to perform this type of treatment so this is something that you should ask them first before considering this method. At times there may not be enough tissue for them to wrap the rubber band around, making this method ineffective. The procedure is done in a doctor’s office and typically 1 to 2 hemorrhoids are treated at a time, and any additional ones in a 4-6 week interval.
After treatment, some people require 2-3 days of bedrest, and no heavy lifting is allowed for at least a couple weeks. It’s also recommended that you take stool softeners, avoid taking aspirin or applying pressure to your rectum to avoid post operation bleeding. Once the area has healed, the scarring that is left is what keeps the hemorrhoid from reappearing. Bleeding may occur 7-10 days after the rubber band ligation, when the hemorrhoid falls off.
Side effects are rare, but can sometimes occur. Severe pain that doesn’t respond to pain relief could mean that the bands are too close to pain sensors, and trouble urinating or bleeding from the anus can occur. It is important to drink plenty of fluids and keep the area as clean as possible to prevent anal infections.
Rubber band ligation is very widely used and is the preferred option because of its high success rate. Many physicians are more familar with this method because it’s very cost effective and has brought relief to many hemorrhoid sufferers.
If you’re looking for which types of hemorrhoids treatments work, check out: best hemorrhoids treatment to find out now.