The three most common medical procedures used to treat hemorrhoids are rubber band ligation, infrared photocoagulation and sclerotherapy. This article examines these three different procedures and the option of surgery, looking at their advantages and disadvantages. {To learn more about the best treatment methods for hemorrhoids click the links in the last paragraph below}

Rubber Band Ligation.
This procedure involves the placing of a rubber band around the base of the hemorrhoid inside the rectum. The band constricts the blood vessels supplying blood to the hemorrhoid causing the hemorrhoid to wither away within a week or two.
Rubber band ligation is commonly used for the treatment of grade II and grade III hemorrhoids and is the standard to which other methods are compared. A band ligature is passed through an anoscope and placed on the rectal mucosa proximal to the dentate line.

Advantages:
• High success rate. Up to 80% of people who had this procedure said their symptoms improved
• Great long-term efficacy
• Re-occurrence after procedure is not common.

Disadvantages:
• It can cause a severe kind of pain which is not responsive to analgesic drugs.
• Bleeding from the anus
• Infection in the form of necrotizing pelvic sepsis is a rare, but serious, complication of rubber band ligation. It occurs 1-2 weeks after ligation, frequently in immune compromised patients, and requires prompt surgical debridement and use if very powerful antibiotics.{ To avoid the unnecessary complications of rubber band ligation click the links in the last paragraph below)

Laser or Infrared Coagulation.
Here laser or infra red light is used to destroy hemorrhoid mass. Coagulation causes the hemorrhoidal tissue to harden and degenerate, and to form scar tissue as the area heals. Coagulation is generally effective for grade I, grade II, and some grade III hemorrhoids.

Advantages:
• It has less and milder complications if compared with rubber band ligation
• Simple, convenient and fast
• No serious complications

Disadvantages
• Recurrence of hemorrhoids is commoner when compared with rubber band ligation.(Click the links in the last paragraph below to discover how to cure hemorrhoids completely without the fear of recurrence)

Sclerotherapy.
A chemical agent known as a sclerosant is injected into the blood vessels, this chemical makes the blood vessels to shrink and dry up.
Some the commonly used sclerosing agents are chemicals like phenol in oil, polidocanol, concentrated NaCl solution, they are injected into the mucosa at the base of the hemorrhoid leading to tissue necrosis.

Rare major complications include pelvic infection and impotence, as result of incorrectly sited injection. (Click the links in the last paragraph below to avoid rare but deadly complications completely)

Advantages:
• Fewer and less severe complications than with rubber band ligation

Disadvantages:

• Recurrence rates may be higher than with rubber band ligation
• Urological complications
• It can not be used to treat anterior hemorrhoids (Click links in the last paragraph below to discover a natural treatment that can treat All types of hemorrhoids)

Hemorrhoidectomy (major surgery).
Occasionally, extensive or severe internal or external hemorrhoids may require removal by surgery known as hemorrhoidectomy.

Advantages:
• This operation has a fairly high success rate.
• 4th degree hemorrhoids are best treated by this form of surgery.

Disadvantages:

This surgical procedure has a very high rate of causing severe pain and high rate of complications. Complication rate is about 10-20% (Click the links in the last paragraph below to learn how to cure piles without causing additional pain and stress)