Doppler-Guided Hemorrhoid Surgery

In 1995, a Japanese surgeon, Kazumasa Morinaga, developed a cutting edge new procedure using Doppler-guided radar; the procedure is called the Doppler-guided hemorrhoidal artery ligation (DG-HAL).  Using the Doppler radar, allows surgeons to find and isolate the veins that have hemorrhoids, then the blood flow to the hemroid is cut off with a stitch which allows the hemorrhoid to dry up so that it doesn’t cause you any more problems. Although other procedures have been around a lot longer, such as the rubber band ligation, the DG-HAL is gaining popularity because it has proven so effective.

The magazine Digestive Surgery, Vol. 24, No.6 published an article in 2007 detailing the results of a study done from 6/2005 to 3/2006. The study involved 110 hemorrhoid patients who had the DG-HAL and the doctors who conducted the study found the results very favorable. In fact, a funny thing happened during the time frame of this study. Due to a lot of positive press, plus the excellent results reported about DG-HAL, the doctor’s couldn’t find enough additional patients who wanted to opt for the rubber band ligation, so they couldn’t do the additional comparison studies that they wanted to conduct. Even the doctors involved in this study ended up so favorably impressed with DG-HAL that they all decided to use it as their primary treatment for Grade II and Grade III hemorrhoids.

The DG-HAL is a fast easy procedure, it can be done in well less than an hour, plus it is a very effective treatment, resulting in a much lower rate of reoccurrence. Compared with the rubber band ligation, the reoccurrence rate is much lower, 9% for DG-HAL and 40% with the rubber band ligation. Obviously this is a significant difference in reoccurrence, but the benefits don’t stop there. The DG-HAL is also less painful, with only 6% of patients reporting pain. In addition, the side effects are minimal when compared to other surgical procedures.

So, if you do end up requiring hemroid surgery, the DG-HAL may be something you want to discuss with your doctor.