Objectives: To know the influence of the stapled line height (SLH) in the recurrence rate and the postoperative disturbances in stapled anopexy (SA) for the treatment of hemorrhoids.
Design: Simple randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial. Randomization with closed-envelope technique in two groups with two different SLH.
Setting: Colorectal Surgery Unit. Department of General Surgery. Hospital de Mataró (Barcelona, Spain).
Participants: 119 patients with the diagnosis of symptomatic third- and fourth-grade hemorrhoids were included.
Intervention: SA was performed with two different SLH: group A, 4.5 cm (58 patients) and group B, 6 cm (61 patients) from the external anal verge. Postoperative disturbances were evaluated by a colorectal surgeon who was blind for the randomization and pain was measured (visual analogic scale) one week and 3 months after surgery. Mean operative time, number of hemostatic stitches performed and resected mucosal area were considered as well. Mean follow-up was 11.05 ± 1.6 years.
Results: Differences between the operative time and resected mucosa-submucosa area were not found. The patients of group A needed a significantly higher number of stitches for intraoperative bleeding control along the stapled line. We did not found differences between both groups in terms of postoperative pain neither anorectal disturbances. At the follow-up, persistence of symptomatology was 10.41% in group A and 10.71% in group B, without statistically significance. Neither mortality nor undesirable effects occurred in the series.
Conclusions: SLH do not influence the recurrence rate neither the postoperative evolution in SA.
Trial registration: Clinical Trials NCT03383926.