Read What People Are Saying

2/28/12

Approximately nine months have passed since my THD procedure with Dr. Berson in Colorado Springs. I suffered fifteen or so years with hemorrhoids that got to the point of prolapse, nearly continuous bleeding, and excruciating pain that affected every area of my life. In a roundabout way, the problem also cost me my job because I could no longer perform the functions of my work or be at all comfortable in social situations. I had several procedures such as banding and supposed hemorrhoidectomies that failed to produce any positive change and, in fact, seemed to make the condition worse in some cases. The THD procedure itself was quick and painless. The first day, my body experienced mild "shock" symptoms and for the first entire week I was in considerable pain requiring frequent sitz baths and potent medication. However, the pain was not worse than the hemorrhoids had been and I was comforted knowing it would go away soon. The next three to four weeks saw gradual improvement and by about the fifth or sixth week I was mostly healed and doing so many of the things I had not been able to do just a month ago! My life has been turned around, really! A person who has not experienced this problem cannot imagine the relief: physical, mental and emotional! The hemorrhoids are not 100 percent gone, as mine were extremely advanced and large, internal and external. However, what little hemorrhoidal tissue that remains is easily managed and in no way affects my daily activities. And, to alleviate any worries about the future, the procedure can be repeated if necessary, unlike most of the other invasive surgery options for hemorrhoids.

- THD Patient

02/09/12

Dr Tamar Lipof talked to me about hemorrhoid surgery in a way that I felt completely comfortable. She is very down to earth & talks with you in a way so you do not feel embarressed or uncomfortable in any way. The surgery was quick and painless. I could not have predicted the results to be so dramatic. It's simply amazing. There was, in my recovery of a few days, some discomfort but I would not label it pain. Nothing compared to the long, relentless wrath of the previous hemorrhoidal issues. I now have no symptoms of my previous problem. This may sound exceedingly profound but I am completely sincere when I say Dr. Lipof gave me my life back. Thank you !

- THD Patient

1/17/12

A miracle is how I would describe my THD treatment after suffering with stage 4 hemorrhoids. I was one of the first people in central Connecticut to get the THD treatment offered by Dr. Blancafor at Shoreline Surgical. I had been suffering from hemorrhoids since my early 20s when I was an avid cyclist. Each flareup would get worse and take longer to subside. This past June, at the age of 52, a case of diarrhea made the condition permanent and I tried everything to calm them but to no avail. Dr. Blancafor recommended this treatment and it sounded to good to be true. I just couldn't live any longer in constant pain. The condition ruined a vacation, and my bike riding season, and I wasn't going to let it continue. I am two weeks out from the THD procedure and everything is normal and best of all the my hemorrhoids are gone. The procedure was done on a Wednesday so I'd have the weekend to recuperate. It was perfectly comfortable, done under general anesthesia, and I could clearly tell I no longer had hemorrhoids when I woke up, only feeling some tightness and swelling from the ligation of the 6 arteries and the repair of the prolapse. Day 2 was the worst day with a good deal of discomfort requiring percosetts. However, by Day 3, I was out for a short walk and only taking tylenol. After the weekend, on Monday, Day 6, I was back to work. I needed to stand often and to be near a bathroom, as when BMs came, they came quickly but for the most part back to normal. Eating healthy, laying on my stomach after dinner, sitz baths and going to bed early helped the most at this point. On Day 10, I celebrated with an easy 10 mile bike ride and felt fine. The great news is that I don't have hemorrhoids any longer! In a short period of time, thanks to the skills of Dr. Blancafor and THD, I am able to do all the things I enjoy doing, from athletics to playing with my kids. My recommendation is get it done! In doing so, have a conversation with your doctor about getting the bowel movements back to normal ASAP after surgery as that was probably the biggest hurdle to get over. If you have any doubts about THD let me tell you that having a tonsillectomy a few years ago was much worse than theTHD treatment. Recovery was more painful and took several weeks. THD has really allowed me to get back to living a full, active life.

- THD Patient

12/15/2011

What a welcome relief to find a procedure that will reduce the reoccurrence of my hemorrhoids. After three surgeries to remove same, only to have them come back, I was very happy. It was by happenstance that the doctor I visited was one of the few that did this type of procedure. It went well, though not painless, three days later I am out doing my daily walks again with very little discomfort. Thank You!!

- THD Patient

10/7/11

I suffered with hemorrhoids for a period longer than I can remember. I bled often experiencing embarrassing moments. When I saw a medical piece on the BBC channel in China showing THD I was convinced that I would go for the procedure. I live in New York City. Oddly enough, no physician in Manhattan performed the procedure. But I saw that Dr. Robert Dring on Long Island, NY did the procedure. He ultimately solved my problem and the results changed my life. I no longer have to wear pads in my underwear and I no longer fear a bowel movement, which would exacerbate the pain and agony. The surgery was never a problem. However, the recovery for me was not immediate because it took time for my gastrointestinal system to function normally. I HIGHLY recommend this procedure.

- THD Patient

9/16/11

The procedure went very well only with minor disconfort while going to the restroom for the first week. I highley recomend this procedure my life is much easer know

- THD Patient

5/26/11

THD gave me the desire to go on living. I'm serious. I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear for 2 years before I found a doctor who has an idea of what to do that did not involve a colostomy bag. My problem was so bad I had stopped eating at one point to avoid making any waste. Before this simple surgery I had suffered with the inability to defecate (not simply difficulty, I mean NO defecation was possible without daily aggressive manual extraction and massive pain) I had massive internal and external hemmoroids blocking the opening, levitor ani malfunction, internal rectal sphincter spasms, anterior and posterior rectocele, fissures; severe obstructive defecation disorder. This surgery was a miracle for me. Thanks goes to Dr. Theodoros Voloyiannis of Houston, Texas for his dedication to his field and creative problem solving skills, as well as his surgical expertise. I also healed up in half the time expected due to his diet, supplement, and aftercare recommendations.

- THD Patient

4/12/11

A few months prior to prostate surgery, I decided to take care of a hemorrhoid problem, because I didn't want to deal with hemorrhoids along with trying to recover from prostate surgery. I did some research, found out about the THD procedure, and went to see Dr. Sanda Tan at Shand's in Gainesville, Fl. She did a great job using THD. It takes awhile for everything to settle down and the sutures to dissolve, but I was much more comfortable after the surgery. When it came time to deal with the prostate, I had only the prostate problem to deal with. I'm very happy with the results.

- THD Patient

4/1/11

Hey Everyone, sorry for the long post, but I added details about my experience and hope it helps.

I had mine performed in PA at St. Mary medical center. My doctor was:

Dr. David Schaffzin MD
Center for Colon and Rectal Health
1203 Langhorne Newtown Rd
Suite 130
Langhorne, PA 19047

I am a 22 year old male, and have had hemorrhoids since I was 5 years old, but just kept pushing them off. I workout and dealt with much pain every time i went to the bathroom, had to lay down for at least 20 minutes after a BM for "them" to go in. I was unable to workout if I had a BM prior. Unable to go at a public restroom or use rough toilet paper because it hurt. I would rather hold it in. Let all that go and get this amazing procedure done! My doctor said he was proud of me growing such beautiful kids! :)

My surgery was monday march 28th 2011. Following up to the surgery, I have been taking stool softeners, and did do an enema an hour before the surgery. The surgery went as planned and successful. I do not remember anything during the surgery, no pain or discomfort. Unfortunately for me when asked to urinate, i was unable to do so. Could have been me being nervous. The nurses were wonderful and very helpful there, especially Mary Rita Lewis; she was a sweetheart. She did have to perform a catheter for me to pee and released me home. Upon getting home, I took the milk magnesium, I believe it was called, and immediately threw up. No BM that night, I did take one percocet every six hours. I was drowsy and well asleep as soon as i laid down. Had a difficult time sleeping because I could not find a comfortable position. Later to find out it was due to the cotton piece that was inserted to prevent the bleeding. I sweat a lot and had to change my t-shirt every few hours throughout the night, that was due to the anesthesia. Next morning i woke up to little discomfort and took a percocet, I didn't really have any pain, just discomfort, and obviously drowsy. It was difficult to urinate and took me a few minutes and some concentration to do so. Took my stool softeners once a day as told my the doctor. Later that day, i did have a BM, but it was a little one and felt some pain as I was doing it, thats when the cotton piece came out with my my little present. After all was done, I didn't wipe, but instead bathed with soap right after to not irritate anything. Compared to my huge real estate from before, all I felt was a little bump and no pain. I did do a sitz bath with warm water every few hours for about 10 minutes. On wednesday, I had another bowel movement and only took one percocet the entire day. Once again a little difficult to pee, but i tried to go twice a day. Thursday, I had 4 BM, and all about a few hours apart. It was a good day with almost no pain or discomfort, took no medication that day. Did wake up at midnight to change the sheets because everything was wet due to me sweating. Today is friday, had two bowel movements within an hour of each other, no pain and no real estate down there. Just once again took a warm bath to clean my self off. I did take this week off work so as to ay an relax.

Key points to note based on my experience:
Do the sitz baths, they feel very soothing.
Drink the stool softeners.
Don't get excited with the percocets so as to not get addicted.
If you're a male don't worry about difficulty with urination as it will go away.
Sweats during the night are okay because of anesthesia coming out.
Frequent BM are okay, but try not to wipe, warm bath and soap is best.
I did feel pressure when walking.
Every time i passed gas (which was often) felt as though i had to use the restroom.

Overall, i feel like a different person, the THD procedure was amazing, I still am not fully recovered but I cant praise the surgeon enough. After so many years with my friends, it was time to give them up. I highly recommend my surgeon. The staff at St. Mary was wonderful!

Once again, thank you Dr. David Schaffzin, MD and the wonderful nurse at St. Mary, Mary Rita Lewis, RN!

- THD Patient

3/29/11

My profession (minister) requires a great deal of standing and sitting. In my late 20's I began to experience a great deal of rectal discomfort which led to a hemmorhoidectomy. This was in the late 1980's and I was hospitalized for 5 days and suffered a considerable amount of pain and discomfort for an extended time period. I've often remarked that "I walked funny for 6 months."

Imagine my horror late last year when I began to experience extreme rectal discomfort and bleeding again. When I finally could ignore it no longer my primary physician made a referral to Dr. Margarita Murphy in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Dr. Murphy had a challenge on her hand as I can be very strong-willed and preferred to remain in a certain level of denial. She very patiently worked with me and always remained considerate of the demands of being the pastor of a church and having to schedule procedures according to the optimum time for me to be "out of the pulpit."

My THD procedure was performed on March 2nd. As Dr. Murphy initially told me, the average patient experiences pain and discomfort for a week and a half to two weeks. That was exactly the way it happened. For a few weeks afterward sitting more than 30 minutes was also uncomfortable but I'm aware that I have a considerable amount of scar tissue from my previous surgery.

My 3 week check up with Dr. Murphy was March 24th and I'm healing very well. Back full time with my church and even exercising on my Health Rider (which requires one to be seated). As someone who's experienced both types of surgery for hemmorhoids I can say that the THD procedure is a wonderful alternative and to a certain degree, "miraculous."

- THD Patient

3/11/11

If I had known about the procedure earlier, I would have had it done years ago. What a relief not to have bleeding and constant pain anymore. I think I was given a new life after suffering for about 15 years. I would recommend the procedure to everybody. I can now get dressed only once every morning, and no need to worry about my clothes being full of blood before going to work.

- THD Patient

I am 67 years old. I had traditional hemorrhoid surgery in 1982 and was hospitalized for 5 days and thought I would never be able to have a normal bowel movement again. The pain was terrible for months. I had the TDH procedure this past Monday, June 14, 2010 and can't believe the difference. The pain has been minimal. The first night I was pretty uncomfortable, but Tuesday (24 hrs after surgery) the pain started leaving and I am already having normal bowel movements plus I don't feel like I have to go all the time.

The pain is less with a bowel movement today than it was before I had the procedure. I could go back to work today but am doing what my Dr. said and taking off until tomorrow, then light duty. I have suffered with hemorrhoids since I was 17 years old. The traditional surgery did not repair them. I have suffered with them even after the surgery for 50 years. I feel today I am free of the problem. I realize it has only been 3 days, but when you know you know.

My surgeon was Dr. Rudolph Ruston, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

- THD Patient

I had THD on Jan 18, 2010. Today is the 23rd, and I feel great. I did find recovery to be a bit difficult, but only because my situation was SEVERE and I waited way too long to have surgery. Dr. Bajwa in Bellaire, TX performed my procedure and he did a great job. I still have quite a bit of swelling that hasn't gone down, and bruising as well, but this procedure is SO WORTH it. Dr. Bajwa, you changed my life. Thank you so much. I dealt with external hemorrhoids for so long and I feel so good now. THD is definitely the way to go. As humiliating as it was for me to take the plunge and actually go to the doctor for this, I am SO GLAD I did.

I think THD is a wonderful option for both patients and physicians. From a physician stand point, it allows us to treat the hemorrhoids under direct visualization, very easily with a low complication rate. From the patient stand point, it allows patients to have their hemorrhoids taken care of without excision of tissue, a quick procedure, out patient and quick return to normal activities.

- Dr. Michael Page, Des Moines, Iowa

I think THD is a great alternative, especially for very active patients that are concerned about getting back to work. THD offers quick recovery with very little pain. It gets patients back to normal activities quickly.

- Dr. Stephen Cohen, Atlanta, Georgia

Overall our patients are much happier with the THD than with a regular hemorrhoidectomy. It's been wonderful to be able to offer this type of surgery as an option. It's been an efficient, yet affective way to deal with hemorrhoids for both the patients and the staff.

- THD Surgeon, Nurse.

After dealing with bleeding for over 20 years and then prolapse that wouldn't allow me to stand for more than 10 minutes at a time, I had the THD procedure.

I am now free! I can do anything. It is hard to remember that I don't need to think about all the things I used to have to be careful about attempting.

The surgery was quick and the recovery period was easy in comparison to other hemorrhoidectomy procedures.

I was being pressured into having stapling done, but I didn't feel that it addressed the hemorrhoids directly enough and its record of complications concerned me.

Finding this website was the key to relief for me. Since THD deals directly with the hemorrhoids by ligating their blood supply, it is simple and has no record of serious complications.

I really can't say enough about how pleased I am and how free I feel. It has only been four weeks since I had the procedure and I could not be happier!

Thank you Dr. Klause in San Clemente!

- THD Patient.

Today is 11/24/08. I had 6 internal hemorrhoids destroyed on 11/21/08 with the THD method. I'm very happy with the results! I checked in at 10:30 am, surgery was approx. 45 minutes, and I left at 3:45pm on the same day. When I left the surgical clinic, I was able to walk out, there was no pain, just minimal discomfort. (I felt as though I needed to have a BM). Through the weekend, it was a bit difficult to have a BM and had a "full" feeling. (It was almost like menstral cramps). The only pain meds I took was 2 Tylenol Extra Strength 500 mg each when needed. The codene that was prescribed made me ill. An item a patient may want to invest in is a sitz bath, to sit in, as it helped through the discomfort. I also used a heating pad for my lower back, and alternated use of it on my stomach.

My surgeon is Timothy B. Cole, MD of Lincoln, NE. Great Job Dr. Cole!
-THD Patient.