Private Illness Often Leads Patients to Suffer in Silence
Sept. 26, 2008 -- Williamsburg, VA – Hemorrhoids represent one of the most common colorectal complaints heard by primary care physicians. More than 10 million people suffer from hemorrhoids annually.
Some changes in lifestyle and activity can prevent the onset of hemorrhoids, but in some cases, what may begin as an annoyance for pregnant women, overweight people, and people over the age of 50, can escalate to a condition requiring medical or surgical intervention.
Williamsburg Surgery Group recently began offering a non-surgical, non-invasive alternative for the treatment of hemorrhoids called Infrared Coagulation (IRC). IRC consists of a small probe which delivers a few short bursts of infrared light to the tissue above the internal hemorrhoid. The infrared light quickly coagulates the vessels that provide the hemorrhoid with blood, causing the hemorrhoids to shrink and recede.
“IRC offers our patients a non-surgical, office-based treatment that is fast, well tolerated, and remarkably complication-free,” says Dr. Terryl Times, a general surgeon with the Williamsburg Surgery Group. “This procedure has taken the fear out of hemorrhoid treatment for my patients,” Dr. Times continues.
Because this procedure is non-invasive, anesthesia is not required. Before the treatment, physicians will conduct a routine internal and external exam to chart your condition and ensure there is no other disease responsible for your symptoms and that you are a candidate for IRC.
“Our patients have found the IRC treatment allows them to return to their lifestyle within a day or two of the procedure with little or no pain” according to Dr Mark Moniz of Williamsburg Surgery Group. “Once the patient recovers, we recommend a sensible, fiber-rich diet, exercise, and drinking plenty of fluids for lasting relief from hemorrhoids.”
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