TREATMENTS WE OFFER
We offer the following treatments at the Leicester Bowel Clinic at the Health Suite. These are offered under local anaesthetic where necessary.
Bleeding from piles can be treated with banding done in clinic. It is a simple treatment that involves an examination of your back passage in clinic with a proctoscope and application of bands to treat your piles.
Banding of haemorrhoids
This is a simple procedure that takes a few minutes and does not require any anaesthetic. It is well tolerated and does not require any time off work. It is successful in treating bleeding in 70% of patients with early haemorrhoids (Grade 2). Recurrence rates vary between 10-25% depending on the stage of haemorrhoids. It can be repeated easily and is often the first treatment for piles that are small and bleed often. It is well tolerated and occasionally might cause some discomfort that settles quickly.
Botox therapy for anal fissures
Anal fissures are very painful and treated with creams that help to relax the sphincter muscles. Botox injection in to the anal sphincter results in relaxation of the anal sphincter for up to 3 months and allows the tear in the back passage to heal. It is recommended when topical creams have not worked and can be given in clinic under a local anaesthetic.
Removal of anal skin tags or lumps
Anal skin tags can be removed under a local anaesthetic. If the anal tags are all around the anal canal, we recommend to have them removed in two attempts. This preserves the skin on the anus as much as possible and is a safer approach. The procedure takes approximately 10-15 minutes and may be sore afterwards. Occasionally there may be a need to send the anal lumps for pathology analysis if there are any concerns and this will be discussed in clinic.
Curettage and drainage under local anaesthetic for pilonidal disease
The infected tissue in pilonidal sinus disease can be cleaned under local anaesthetic and a plastic tube inserted to reduce pain and prevent collections of pus in natal cleft between the buttocks. This offers quick relief and prevents repeated pain and collection of pus and can be followed up with less invasive surgery later such as fibrin glue or laser ablation.
PiLAC (Pilonidal sinus Laser Assisted Closure) procedure
Our surgeons have excellent results with treating pilonidal sinus with laser ablation. This minimally invasive technique uses a laser energy under local anaesthetic to destroy the infected tissues. It has the benefit of not creating any wounds that might break down and require dressings and time off work. It may require an initial curettage and drainage procedure if the tissues are very infected but both procedures do not require time off work or daily dressings by a district nurse in most cases.