Objective: To compare stapled haemorrhoidectomy with Milligan-Morgan haemorrhoidectomy.
Design: Prospective open study.
Setting: Teaching hospital, Greece.
Patients: 85 patients with prolapsing haemorrhoids were invited to choose between stapled and Milligan-Morgan haemorrhoidectomy. 48 chose the former and 37 the latter.
Interventions: Operation. Postoperatively, the patients were given analgesics on demand, and were discharged as soon as their condition and particularly their pain had improved.
Main outcome measures: Patients' symptoms and their opinion about the procedures, which were recorded during their follow-up which lasted for 6 months.
Results: Stapling resulted in a significantly shorter operating time, and less postoperative pain and other symptoms, than Milligan-Morgan excision (p < 0.001). Postoperative complications, and mean time in hospital did not differ significantly between the two groups. During the follow-up period there was no significant difference in the incidence of recurrences between the two groups. Six months after the operation, significantly more patients in the stapled group had residual skin tags-external haemorrhoids than in the Milligan-Morgan group, and all these patients had fourth degree haemorrhoids.
Conclusions: Stapled haemorrhoidectomy is a promising method of treatment for prolapsing third degree haemorrhoids. Its effectiveness is questionable for fourth degree ones. Initially, the results are as good as after Milligan-Morgan haemorrhoidectomy, especially for third degree haemorrhoids. However, more patients and longer follow-up periods are required for its long-term efficacy to be confirmed.