STORY BYMore than 200 years after astronomer Sir William Herschel discovered infrared radiation in the spectrum of the sun, these invisible rays now known as infrared light are helping hemorrhoid sufferers.
Physicians at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston are using a non-surgical treatment called infrared coagulation to shrink hemorrhoids, a condition in which veins around the anus or lower rectum become swollen and inflamed.
"In 1.5 seconds, we can literally zap the hemorrhoid," says Dr. Grant Fowler, professor and vice chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine. "It's painless. No anesthesia is required, and patients don't need pain medication afterward."
The procedure is ideal for people who aren't getting relief from traditional therapies, such as hemorrhoidal creams and suppositories, but don't have hemorrhoids severe enough to warrant surgery.
"It is estimated that 50 to 80 percent of people develop hemorrhoids at some point during their lives," Fowler says. "In most cases, hemorrhoids are not life-threatening, but the pain, itching and bleeding can certainly affect your life. This procedure offers patients a safe, pain-free way to correct chronic hemorrhoids."
Everyone has hemorrhoidal veins. If they stay in place, they shouldn't cause any problems, but chronic constipation or diarrhea, excessive weight, aging and pregnancy can cause the veins to weaken. Gravity takes over, and those veins, along with the mucosa, which is the lining of the anus, can slide down and become kinked and engorged with blood.
The infrared treatment, which is covered by insurance, targets the kink. A small probe contacts the area near the hemorrhoid, exposing the tissue to a burst of infrared light. This coagulates the vein above the hemorrhoid, causing it to shrink.
Patients usually have multiple hemorrhoids, so to avoid discomfort Fowler treats them in intervals. On the first office visit, Fowler treats the most severe hemorrhoid. Then every two to six weeks, Fowler asks patients to return for additional treatments until all the hemorrhoids are gone.
With each treatment, Fowler says, patients may feel a slight sensation of heat, resulting in a mild, dull ache for a few seconds to up to two days. Patients may also notice a small amount of bleeding or a scab a week or two after treatment.
The infrared treatment, Fowler says, is an improvement over previous hemorrhoid therapies, including surgery and rubber banding to cut off the hemorrhoids' blood supply. The new procedure reduces the risk of scarring and infection.
Patients also can return to normal activities immediately after infrared treatment, eliminating the lengthy recovery that is associated with the traditional surgical approach to removing the problematic veins.
Infrared treatment may not be effective for patients with severe hemorrhoids, and even with infrared coagulation to treat mild to moderate hemorrhoids, a small percentage of patients may require a different treatment. For those patients, Fowler recommends a minimally- invasive surgical procedure to alleviate symptoms.
Dr. Erik Wilson, assistant professor of surgery at the UT Medical School, offers an alternative to the hemorrhoidectomy. Instead of cutting and surgically removing the hemorrhoids, he uses a specially-designed stapler to put the prolapsed veins and mucosa back into their proper positions.
"With these two procedures, we can spare patients a painful surgery and lengthy recovery," Fowler says. "Patients don't have to miss any time from work. There is either no pain or minimal discomfort, and patients can enjoy life without hemorrhoids."
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Dr. Grant Fowler is professor and vice chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the UT Medical School..
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Dr. Erik Wilson is chief of the Division of Minimally Invasive and General Elective Surgery at the UT Medical School.
He also is medical director of bariatric surgery at Memorial Hermann - Texas Medical Center.
See Dr. Wilson also at:
Eating healthy
reverses metabolic syndrome
Dr. Tasnime Akbaraly of University College London and her colleagues were interested if healthy eating could actually turn-the-tide and reverse metabolic syndrome, which is having 3 or more of the following risk factors: excess abdominal fat; high triglycerides, hypertension, low levels of HDL the “good” cholesterol, or type 2 diabetes. Having metabolic syndrome doubles a persons’ risk of heart disease and greatly increases the odds of developing type 2 diabetes.
The researchers studied 339 British civil servants with metabolic syndrome, and how closely the adhered to the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) to see if it could help reverse metabolic syndrome. The AHEI is a set of published nutritional guidelines by the Harvard School of Public Health in 2002 that emphasizes whole grains, fruits, vegetables and decreased red meat consumption.
Five years into the study, nearly 50% no longer had metabolic syndrome. People who followed the AHEI guidelines the closest were nearly twice as likely to have reversed their metabolic syndrome. The results of the study were published in Diabetes Care, online July 29, 2010.
Dr. Alice Lichtenstein, an expert on diet and heart health from Tufts University in Boston who was not involved in the study said, "It's not about focusing on individual components of the diet, it's really the whole package, and that becomes important because it means that if one of the components of a healthy diet is to eat more fruits and vegetables, just buying a pill saying that there's a concentrated extract of fruits and vegetables is probably not what's going to help you."
Call and make an appointment with Wellness Coach Sam Hester, CWC, CPT, LWMC, at 713-500-3327. It's confidential and free. For more information on the wellness services provided, visit UT Counseling and WorkLife Services.
