All you need to know before hemorrhoids surgery

Undergoing any surgery undoubtedly can cause anxieties to the patients. Some of them are not able to sleep the prior night, dreading the vision of pain and suffering during and after the operation. The least that we can do to alleviate the uncomfortable feeling is to have a clear mind before the so-thought D-day. Knowledge is indeed power, and it is not an exaggeration to state that by just possessing adequate information on your surgery, you would find yourself calm and ready to be pushed into the operating theatre.

In the case of hemorrhoids or known as buasir in Malay, several choices of treatments can be laid upon to the individuals affected for them to choose. With the recent advancement in medical technology, intervention for hemorrhoids has experienced a paradigm shift, as most of the tertiary hospitals and a minority of district hospitals in this country prefer a more non-invasive laser treatment over the painful conventional or staple surgical removal options. However, not all hemorrhoids can be resolved just by applying the laser because the big ones tend to be only cured by the latter choices.

The surgery that is being done to obliterate the hemorrhoids is called hemorrhoidectomy. Your doctor would normally offer this way once you have been diagnosed with the lump around your anus, accompanied by bleeding and pain during defecation. For better outcome, several steps can be taken proactively by the patients themselves before the operation takes place.

In the general hospitals, you are requested to come for a pre-operative assessment at least two weeks before surgery considering that this is an elective procedure. A team of doctors who are assigned to you, including surgeon and anesthesiologist will ask questions besides conducting physical examinations and running a few mandatory investigations (usually a small portion of the blood will be taken). Combination of all the information gained will help them to determine whether you are fit for surgery or not. Once you have been given a pass, they will ask you to stop some of your medications, for example, if you are taking a blood thinner. Other than that, most of your preparations will go down on the last few days before the storm.

Laxative or enema that is being prescribed to you needs to be consumed precisely according to the given instructions. Failure in doing this can cause a delay from the actual time of the planned surgery.  Depending on the preference and availability of the laxative or enema, some is taken the night prior and some, one to two days. The other measures that you must follow are

1. Restraint yourself from eating solid food 8 hours before the surgery. Drinking clear water is permissible up to the 2 hours period.
2. A low-residue diet is advised to be followed. After the surgery, the most common complication is pain and passing out the stool will further exacerbate it. By practicing this diet at least one day prior, you can ensure that less feces will be produced thus indirectly reducing the magnitude of the pain post-operatively. Basically, this diet involves the avoidance to the high-fibre food.
3. Follow the doctor’s order in taking in your medications such as insulin and other diabetic, as well as hypertensive or cholesterol-lowering drugs. You can also order medicine online
4. Avoid eating chewing gum as the level of acid in your stomach can be raised which can lead to stress ulcer.
5. You are encouraged to have a good night sleep. If you are hospitalized, you will be given aid in the form of sleeping pills or injections.
6. Please take a shower in the morning. This is very recommended as the probability of getting infections from the skin can be greatly reduced.
7. All nail polish and jewelry must be removed and stored in a safe place or give the valuable items for family members or close friends to keep.
8. Bring all your medications to the hospital.
9. You are not allowed to drive after the operation.

This surgery can be carried out in many fashions. As being mentioned, there is a conventional and the stapled method. Both of these techniques are proven to have a high success rate but the former tends to inflict more pain after the procedure. That is the sole reason why most of the surgeons nowadays would resort to the latter option. The explanation behind this difference is that the stapled hemorrhoidectomy does not disturb many nerve endings, as opposed to the conventional surgery which sometimes can involve stitching the area. Furthermore, it takes from 2 to 6 weeks to achieve a complete recovery for the mere hemorrhoidectomy whereas its new counterpart can offer a shorter time.

You can be given either a local anesthetic or even general one (you will be completely passed out) during the procedure. This decision is down to you with the guidance of doctors after the assessment. After the surgery, there are also several points that you must be noted. They are:

1. Stool softener will be given to you. It has the same objective as the low-residue diet as being stated above.
2. You might be wearing a pad to ensure drainage from the operative site can take place in a clean manner.
3. Follow-up after a few weeks must be attended to look at the progress of your wound.
4. Should you notice some disturbances in bowel movement, have a fever or experience profuse bleeding coming out from the site, immediately make your way to the hospital.