Guidance
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued full guidance to the NHS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on Haemorrhoidal artery ligation.
Description
Haemorrhoids (also known as piles) are enlarged mucosal folds containing blood vessels in or around the lower part of the bowel (not inside the anus itself). They may cause itching, bleeding or pain.
Some types of surgery to treat haemorrhoids involve their removal and often result in pain after the procedure. This procedure is done on an area higher up in the bowel which is relatively less sensitive to pain. In this region, the blood vessels are tied and part of the inside lining of the bowel in the lower area is folded up reducing blood supply to the haemorrhoids and making them shrink inside the bowel. Since there is no excision of tissue, post-operative pain and complications are meant to be significantly lower than other surgical methods which involve the excision of tissue.
Coding and clinical classification codes for this guidance.