Hemorrhoidal Artery Ligation Operations-Recto-Anal Repair (HALO-RAR) Procedure for Recurrent Haemorrhoids: Excellent Patient Satisfaction

Background Haemorrhoid is the most common anal canal disease. Treatments may vary from non-invasive to invasive depending on the symptoms. Haemorrhoidectomy has been widely used. However, it has some drawbacks like severe postoperative pain, longer time to return to daily activities and complications such as anal stenosis. To overcome these, various new treatment methods have been introduced. Doppler-guided hemorrhoidal artery ligation operations (HALO) are becoming popular among surgeons. HALO has been reported to have a lower recurrence rate of less than 10% and higher patient satisfaction of approximately 90% with minimal postoperative pain. It achieves very good postoperative outcomes in the treatment of early haemorrhoids where per rectal bleeding and/or perianal discomfort are main symptoms. Nevertheless, it has a limitation in the treatment of prolapsing haemorrhoids. To tackle this, simultaneous recto-anal repair (RAR) has been recently introduced. HALO, in combination with RAR, has been reported to achieve good postoperative outcomes and excellent patient satisfaction. This is a two-stage open operation. The stages are: - Doppler-guided HALO and - RAR (recto-anal repair) Methods We are presenting a single-centre one-year experience of Doppler-guided haemorrhoidal artery ligation operation and recto-anal repair (DG-HALO and RAR) conducted on haemorrhoidal patients to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of the procedure. Retrospective data were collected for the patients who underwent HALO over one year period from June 2018 to August 2019. A total of 10 patients were treated with the HALO-RAR procedure. Results The male to female ratio was 7:3, median age was 47.98 (28.38 - 61.7) years, median body mass index (BMI) was 30.23 (23.8 - 39.1). Eight patients were American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Grade II, one patient was ASA I and one was ASA III. Time from initial consultation to the HALO procedure was 9.90 (3.5 - 19.8) months. All patients complained of preoperative bleeding and six of them complained of pain or discomfort. Nine patients underwent previous bandings in the clinic and one patient declined banding. The average time of the procedure was 57 mins. The average number of ligations was 10 (0-21). In one case, the proctoscope did not pair with the speaker. The average number of plications was three (2-4). Postoperatively, nine patients had no immediate complications; one patient had acute urinary retention. Seven patients were discharged on the same day. One patient had to stay overnight for monitoring prior to restarting apixaban, one patient for his learning difficulties and one patient had an unplanned overnight stay due to acute urinary retention requiring catheterization. Eight patients had their first follow-up; improvement of symptoms was found in 100% patients on the first follow-up. Conclusion HALO-RAR should be considered as a treatment option for recurrent symptoms after banding for haemorrhoids. The study showed good overall results with no immediate surgical complications. Excellent patient satisfaction was found even in long-term follow-up.