Rubber band ligation of hemorrhoids. Convenient and economic treatment.

We have reviewed and summarized 12 years of experience in treating hemorrhoids, a condition that affects 4.4% of the Western population, of whom a third are symptomatic and need treatment. During this time, in a proctological outpatient clinic of an urban hospital, 2,934 patients with second- and third-degree hemorrhoids were treated by rubber band ligation (RBL), usually one ligation per session. Of these patients, 79% were completely cured, 18% needed one or more additional sessions of treatment, and 2.1% failed to be cured by RBL and were referred for conventional hemorrhoidectomy. We found that by using this safe and convenient treatment we can save hundreds of hospitalization days and thousands of sick-leave days per year.