Radio surgery: a new tool in proctology practice

An apparatus that generates ultra-high frequency current waveform [radiofrequency] has emerged as a new tool to deal with many of the common ano rectal conditions.

The purpose of this paper is to enumerate the benefits of radiofrequency with emphasis on its advantages over conventional procedures. Based on extensive personal experience of using radiofrequency surgery in the performance of various anal pathologies, an attempt is made here to relay in narrative form the procedures from a "how-we-do-it" perspective.

Our experience indicates that radiofrequency surgery not only facilitates but also improves the performance of surgical procedures in treating anal fistula, hemorrhoids, pilonidal sinus, anal papillae, anal polyps, anal warts, anal condylomas, anal antibiomas and papillomas. It significantly shortens operative time, causes negligible intra-operative bleeding, facilitates faster recovery by allowing rapid healing and minimizes the chances of postoperative complications. It permitted us to perform most of the above procedures as a day care surgery. Add to this, its cost-effectiveness coupled with better patient acceptance, radiofrequency surgery, applied judicially, could significantly improve the performance of a proctologist. The technique could be effectively applied in conjunction with conventional maneuvers to better the results of these procedures. Further studies, nonetheless, are called for to define long-term benefits of the treatment. (Tab. 4, Fig. 1, Ref: 36.)