Haemorrhoids: an update on management

Haemorrhoids are common, affecting up to one quarter of all adults according to some estimates. Numerous interventions exist for their management, ranging from topical and medical therapies to outpatient treatments and surgical interventions that aim to fix or excise. Given the polysymptomatic nature of the disease, it is difficult to effectively judge which treatment option is best. Recently introduced novel haemorrhoid management techniques, such as stapled haemorrhoidopexy, Ligasure™ excision and haemorrhoidal artery ligation, aim to reduce harm whilst maintaining or improving on outcome. These new techniques are universally more expensive, and available good quality data suggest the additional cost does not necessarily equate to universally better outcomes compared with traditional older interventions, such as rubber band ligation and excisional haemorrhoidectomy. Whatever the intervention selected for treatment, it is clear that this should be tailored to the individual based on patient choice, convenience and degree of haemorrhoids.