A Scottish trial on haemorrhoids treatment could save the NHS millions of pounds, it has been claimed.
Results of the five year study, jointly sponsored by NHS Highland and the Aberdeen University, have been published in one of the world’s oldest and best known medical journals, The Lancet.
The trial was run by Professor Angus Watson, consultant colorectal surgeon for NHS Highland and honorary clinical senior lecturer at Aberdeen University.
Professor Watson said the study team recruited 777 patients from 32 UK hospitals in order to do a comparison between the two most common surgical treatments for haemorrhoidal disease.
A stapled haemorrhoidopexy (SH) involves using a surgical stapler that removes a ring of tissue above the haemorrhoids to reduce the swelling and the blood supply to the piles.
The second one is a traditional surgery (TH) which uses electro-cautery to physically cut out the haemorrhoids.
He said: “There was very little robust economic data as to how much the surgeries cost the NHS or the patients.”
The eTHoS (either Traditional Haemorrhoidectomy or Stapled) trial compared the two procedures.
The trial showed that over 24 months the quality of life experienced by patients after surgery was better after TH.
The cost of the treatment was cheaper by £337 and patients who had received the TH had fewer pile symptoms over two years.
Patients who had SH were almost twice as likely to report the presence of pile symptoms compared with patients who had undergone TH.
Professor Watson said: “If the results of the trial are adopted across the UK and further afield, patients will have better results after traditional surgery and its use may potentially save the NHS millions of pounds every year.”
