[Prospective assessment of the learning curve and safety of stapler hemorrhoidectomy]

Stapled haemorrhoidectomy (SH) is a recently introduced procedure for the surgical excision of haemorrhoids. Actually, there is only limited information concerning the impact of the learning curve, complication rates and long-term results. Therefore, a prospective single-center study was performed with special regard to the learning curve and clinical safety of SH.

The data of 61 SH performed between March 1999 and May 2001 were analyzed. Operating times, complication rates and outcome results were prospectively recorded and then correlated to the surgical experience of the operating team. Postoperative pain was measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Sphincter lesions represented by the patient's incontinence and muscle defects were analyzed by using Williams incontinence score and histological examination of the resected specimen. Clinical follow-up studies were performed three and twelve weeks postoperatively.

There were 18 patients with grade II haemorrhoids, 38 patients with grade III haemorrhoids, and five patients with grade IV haemorrhoids. Both, operating times and complication rates decreased with more surgical experience. The mean pain score during the first four postoperative days was 1.9 (range 0-8). Mean hospital stay and mean convalescence time were 1.7 days (range 1-5 days) and 10 days (range 1-31 days), respectively. Incontinence scores revealed only minor differences between pre- and postoperative values.

SH represents a safe and effective new treatment modality for symptomatic haemorrhoids. Meticulous surgical technique and experience are mandatory to achieve excellent clinical results, e.g., reduced postoperative pain, shortened hospital stay and convalescence. We adopted SH to our surgical armamentarium for the treatment of haemorrhoids grade III and recurrent haemorrhoids.