Quality of Life after Stapled Hemorrhoidopexy: A Prospective Observational Study

OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to assess the change in quality of life (QOL) of patients undergoing stapled hemorrhoidopexy (SH) using WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. METHODS The study sample comprised patients with symptomatic II, III, and IV degree hemorrhoids, undergoing SH. The patients were asked to complete WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire before and one month following the surgery. RESULT There were 20 patients in the study group. The postoperative pain score measured by visual analogue scale at six hours postoperatively was 7.60 ± 1.23, which reduced to 0.70 ± 0.92 at 24 hours. The items in the WHOQOL-BREF had high-internal consistency or reliability as shown by high Cronbach's alpha coefficient which was 0.82 and 0.90 for pre- and postoperative questionnaires. There was significant improvement in the overall perception of QOL and health, and in physical and psychological domains. There was modest improvement in environmental domain, while no change was noted in social domain. CONCLUSION SH improved the quality of life of patients treated for hemorrhoids.