Practice Parameters for Hemorrhoid Treatment Out of Date

Excerpt

To the Editor—Suffering from internal thromboid hemorrhoids that had progressed to the third degree, I sought medical advice for this condition in 1997 and 2002. In both cases, a hemorrhoidectomy was recommended. Reluctant to undergo the pain, cost, and disruption of a hemorrhoidectomy, I researched alternative therapies. This led me to the UCLA Gastroenterology Clinic and Dr. Dennis Jensen. Dr. Jensen had been part of a team that had conducted a number of studies that evaluated the safety and efficacy of direct current (DC) probe treatment of chronic anal fissures associated with internal hemorrhoids and analyzed the effectiveness of this procedure vs. traditional hemorrhoidectomy.1, 2 Dr. Jensen referred me to the office of Dr. Daniel Norman of South Lake Tahoe, California. …