What Kind of Doctor Treats Hemorrhoids? In most cases, you can see a primary care physician about your hemorrhoid symptoms. But if there are complications, your doctor may refer you to a specialist, such as a gastroenterologist or a proctologist (surgeon).
In most cases, you can see a general practitioner or your family physician about your hemorrhoid symptoms. If complications arise, you may be referred to a specialist, such as a gastroenterologist or a proctologist.
If you suspect you have hemorrhoids because you've found blood when you wipe, or your rectum feels sore, go see a gastroenterologist for peace of mind. A diagnosis of hemorrhoids may feel embarrassing, but it's far preferable to the more serious conditions linked to a bleeding anus, such as anal cancer.
General Surgeon & Colorectal Specialist
These doctors can perform hemorrhoid surgery and send you home that day after a brief observation and discussing aftercare to you and a trusted family member.
Hemorrhoid Treatment
Hemorrhoids can cause discomfort and pain. When home treatment no longer helps, gastroenterologists can use non-surgical techniques or surgery to treat hemorrhoids.
Though your hemorrhoids may retract back inside on their own, or with a little help from you, prolapsed hemorrhoids tend to worsen over time. When left untreated, your internal prolapsed hemorrhoid may get trapped outside the anus and cause significant irritation, itching, bleeding, and pain.
Surgery is useful for complicated hemorrhoids.
Although they might cause unpleasant symptoms, the inflammation may clear up after a few days of home care. Medical interventions aren't always necessary. Other times, though, hemorrhoids become more problematic.
Hemorrhoid removal (hemorrhoidectomy).
The surgery can be done with local anesthesia combined with sedation, spinal anesthesia or general anesthesia. Hemorrhoidectomy is the most effective and complete way to treat severe or recurring hemorrhoids.
Yes, most health insurance plans cover hemorrhoid surgeries for patients who are experiencing symptomatic hemorrhoids. The coverage usually includes hemorrhoid banding procedures. Depending on your insurance plan, your out-of-pocket costs may be significantly lower than the average price for this procedure.
Doctors also often recommend surgery if someone has very enlarged grade 3 or grade 4 hemorrhoids that are sticking out. As well as conventional surgery to remove hemorrhoids (known as hemorrhoidectomy), there's a special surgical technique known as stapled hemorrhoidopexy or "stapling."
External hemorrhoids
Severe straining and strenuous exercise can cause these tiny vessels to rupture, which is similar to a blood blister. The ruptured or thrombosed hemorrhoid can grow under the skin and become firm and painful. It is usually dark blue in color and often ruptures producing small dark blood clots.
You may get hemorrhoids if you have a family history, often strain during bowel movements, or have long-term (chronic) constipation or diarrhea. Symptoms may include blood in your stool, pain around your anus, or itching. Your healthcare provider may do several tests to be sure you have hemorrhoids.
Other options are infrared coagulation to heat-treat the hemorrhoids or rubber band ligation, both of which can also be done in the office. With all these non-invasive treatment options, only about 5% of patients being seen for hemorrhoids actually resort to surgery in my hands.
A doctor, most often a surgeon, may perform a hemorrhoidectomy to remove large external hemorrhoids and prolapsing internal hemorrhoids that do not respond to other treatments. Your doctor will give you anesthesia link for this treatment.
Hemorrhoid surgery (hemorrhoidectomy) is performed under general anesthesia or spinal anesthesia so the procedure itself does not cause pain. Patients are also usually given a long-acting local anesthetic right before they wake up to provide up to 12 hours of pain relief following the surgery.
Often hemorrhoids do not cause problems. But if hemorrhoids bleed a lot, cause pain, or become swollen, hard, and painful, surgery can remove them. The rectum is the final portion of the large intestine. It empties stool from the body through the anus.
Larger hemorrhoids, particularly ones that cause a lot of pain, swelling, and itchiness, can't go away on their own and may require treatment from a doctor to heal. Pregnant patients may find that hemorrhoids only go away after they give birth. It's possible for hemorrhoids to return after they've been treated.
Hemorrhoids can be classified according to how severe they are: Grade 1: Slightly enlarged hemorrhoids that can't be seen from outside the anus. Grade 2: Larger hemorrhoids that sometimes come out of the anus, for example while passing stool or – less commonly – during other physical activities.
Unfortunately, for those wondering how long hemorrhoids last, there is no set timeline for when they clear up. Most of the time, symptoms go away after a few days, even without treatment. However, if symptoms do not improve after a week of home care, you should speak with your doctor.
Though the first few bowel movements can be difficult, it is better to move your bowels regularly than to become constipated. If after two days you haven't had a good, relieving bowel movement you can take 1-2 ounces of milk of magnesia, or another mild laxative you know will work for you.
In comparison to the other two treatments, a hemorrhoidectomy had the lowest age average at 49.5 years old (Figure 1). A hemorrhoidectomy is the most popular treatment (Figure 2) among patients aged 31-50 (40%), while it is the 3rd most popular for ages 51-75 (22%) and 2nd most popular for ages 18-30 (29%).
Grade 3 hemorrhoids are internal hemorrhoids which prolapse, but do not go back inside the anus until the patient pushes them back in. Grade 4 hemorrhoids are prolapsed internal hemorrhoids which will not go back inside the anus.