Comparison of post-operative bleeding incidence in laser hemorrhoidoplasty with and without hemorrhoidal artery ligation: a double-blinded randomized controlled trial

Introduction The effectiveness of hemorrhoidal artery ligation supplementation in reducing the incidence of post laser hemorrhoidoplasty bleeding has not been investigated. Methods This was a double-blind, randomized controlled trial comparing post-operative bleeding incidence in patients undergoing laser hemorrhoidoplasty (LHP) only versus LHP with hemorrhoidal artery ligation (HAL). Outcome measures included post-operative bleeding and its severity (i.e. verbal rating scale and Clavien-Dindo classification), presence of perianal swelling and pain score (visual analog score) at 1-day, 1-week and 6-weeks post-operatively. Statistical tests were performed and a value of P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results Seventy-six patients were randomized. There was no difference in median operating time. The bleeding incidence was highest at 1-week post-operatively (17.1%), and decreased to 1.3% at 6-weeks. There was no significant difference in bleeding incidence between both groups at any of the measured timepoints (P > 0.05). Severity of bleeding and incidence of post-operative perianal swelling were similar in both groups (P > 0.05). There was no difference in median pain scores. Conclusion Supplementation of HAL to LHP does not reduce the post-operative bleeding incidence. LHP is sufficient as a stand-alone procedure for treating haemorrhoids. Trial registration: National Registration Number is NMRR-15-1112-24065 (IIR). The trial start date was 1st January 2015 with the ClinicalTrials.gov identifier and registration number as NCT04667169.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effectiveness of hemorrhoidal artery ligation supplementation in reducing post-operative bleeding in patients undergoing laser hemorrhoidoplasty. The results showed that the supplementation did not reduce the incidence of post-operative bleeding, indicating that laser hemorrhoidoplasty alone is sufficient for treating hemorrhoids.