Patients unwilling to go to GPs about haemorrhoids, says pioneering Ilford surgeon
A Redbridge surgeon and colorectal expert who pioneered a treatment for haemorrhoids in the UK says many patients are put off going to their doctor.
It’s a subject which can induce childish giggles or embarrassed silence, but Pasquale Giordano, 45, has worked for 10 years on a surgical technique dealing with the problem.
The consultant, who has worked at Spire Roding Hospital in Roding Lane South, Ilford, and Whipps Cross Hospital, Waltham Forest, since 2004, said: “Because of the nature of the problem patients are unwilling to seek medical advice.
“And when they do see a doctor, the operation that is offered to them is an extremely painful procedure and they are put off.”
Haemorrhoids, otherwise known as piles, are blood vessels in the back passage which can become swollen causing recurrent bleeding and extreme discomfort in chronic cases.
You may also want to watch:
They won’t turn cancerous if left but they can make it uncomfortable for patients to leave the house and go to work, according to Mr Giordano.
Half of over-50s in the UK will be affected by it at some point but the conventional treatment of cutting them out causes post-operative pain and possible problems with bowel control, said the surgeon.
Most Read
- 1 Girl, 16, allegedly raped in Ilford park
- 2 Travelling in and out of Redbridge? Your guide to road and rail works
- 3 Arrests in Ilford and East Ham as police target suspected county lines gang
- 4 Woodford Green bomb scare declared false alarm
- 5 Man found stabbed in Chadwell Heath
- 6 Ambulance stations to close and be replaced by single centre, LAS reveals
- 7 Newbury Park supermarket security staff step in to help man in crisis
- 8 Doctor struck off after working underqualified for locum shifts
- 9 Businesses find cannabis growing in their flower pots
- 10 Council dishes out £7k of fines in fly-tipping crackdown
His patients undergo a different procedure which cuts off the blood flow to the piles through stitches so they return to their normal size.
He said: “It reduces the risk of them growing again.
“The procedure can be successfully performed on even the most advanced cases, those that would otherwise not be suitable for any other minimally invasive treatment.”
The technique, called transanal haemorrhoidal dearterialisation, was developed by a Japanese surgeon in 1995 and Mr Giordano has taught it to over 100 surgeons.
He said: “I changed the technique so any patient can have it done.”
