Background/Aim. According to the "vascular" theory, arterial inflow into the upper hemorrhoidal artery leads to venous dilatation of the hemorrhoidal plexus. Laser hemorrhoidoplasty (LHP) is a new treatment applied to outpatients in whom the hemorrhoid arterial blood flow is coagulated (nourishes by hemorrhoidal plexus) by laser. The aim of this study was to compare two groups of patients treated by two different methods: by laser (LHP) and with open surgical procedure-the Milligan Morgan (MM) method. Methods. This study included 200 patients with grade 3 hemorrhoidal disease older than 18 years, divided into two groups: 100 patients treated with the LHP, while the other 100 patients with the MM hemorrhoidectomy. Parameters used to compare two applied surgical methods were: duration of hospitalization, postoperative pain, the presence of bleeding and time needed to return to normal life. Results. The results reveal a statistically significant difference between these two methods. The level of postoperative pain was lower in the group of patients treated with the LHP compared to the group of patients treated with the MM method (p < 0.0001). The group treated with the LHP manifested less bleeding in comparison with the group treated with the open surgical method (MM). Length of hospitalization and duration of surgery were significantly shorter in the group treated with the LHP method than in the group treated by the MM method. Conclusion. According to our results, it is clear that the LHP method has many advantages over the MM hemorrhoidectomy in patients with grade 3 hemorrhoidal disease.

No abstract

No abstract

Introduction: The aim of this prospective, double-blinded study was to investigate the effects of clonidine in co-administration with bupivacaine during spinal anesthesia, regarding the onset and regression of motor and sensory block, postoperative analgesia and possible side effects. Methods: We randomly selected 66 male patients (age 35 to 70), from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class I-II; these patients were scheduled for transurethral surgical procedures. These patients were randomly allocated into two groups of 33 patients each: group B (bupivacaine) only received 0.5% isobaric bupivacaine 7.5 mg intrathecally and group BC (bupivacaine + clonidine) received bupivacaine 7.5 mg and clonidine 25 µg intrathecally. We performed the spinal anesthesia at a level of L3-L4 with a 25-gauge needle. We assessed the sensory block with a pinprick, the motor block using the Bromage scale, analgesia with the visual analog scale and sedation with the modified Wilson scale. We also recorded the hemodynamic and respiratory parameters. Results: The groups were demographically similar. The mean time of achievement of motor block (Bromage 3) and sensory block at level T9 was significantly shorter in the BC group compared with B group (p = 0.002, p = 0.000, respeectively). The motor block regression time was not significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.237). The postoperative analgesia requirement was significantly longer in group BC compared with group B (p = 0.000). No neurological deficit, sedation or other significant adverse effects were recorded. Conclusion: The intrathecal application of clonidine in combination with bupivacaine improves the duration and quality of spinal anesthesia; it also provides longer duration of postoperative analgesia, without significant side effects.

626 Figure 1 Abstract 626 Figure 2