Cryotheraphy

Cryotherapy is the surgical freezing off of a hemorrhoid. This procedure is often conducted with a nitrogen probe being inserted into the anus to freeze off the offending hemmorhoidal tissue. Cryotheraphy is not a very common procedure because it can carry a host of problems. The procedure works best on smaller hemorrhoids.

While Cryotherapy may sound like an easy and painless way to remove hemorrhoids it is not. Most people when they have cryotherapy have to be put under general anesthetic. Putting the patient under complete sedation allows the anus to be dilated enough so that the hemorriodal tissue can be more easily accessed by the probe.

One of the main problems with cryotherapy is that the affected area is often under- or over-frozen. This problem is especially common when attempting to treat larger hemorrhoids. Over freezing by cryotherapy can damage healthy tissue. The over freezing can risk damage to your vessels, sphincter muscle, and other structures within the anus. It can also cause bleeding and incontinence. Whereas, under freezing the hemorrhoid means that the symptoms are very likely to quickly return and surgery will be needed again.

Side Effects

Those who under go cyrotherapy can expect to feel pain. The level of pain can vary from individual to individual. Most people will have a lot of watery mucus discharged from the anus. This discharge can last for several weeks. Bleeding can last for 2-3 weeks. Some will also have leakage of feces and fecal soiling. Others may find that they experience a foul order coming from the area. A foul smell could be the result of the wound being infected. The wound can take several weeks to heal and is dependant on the extent of the freezing.

Two-thirds of cyrotherapy patients unfortunately will have their hemorrhoids return within ten years of treatment.