: Thrombosed external hemorrhoid is a common problem in Minnesota. It is usually a complication from the underlying disease – internal hemorrhoids. It occurs outside the anal verge when one or more varicose hemorrhoidal veins rupture and blood clots develop. Typical symptoms of thrombosed external hemorrhoid are sudden onset with severe rectal pain and tender bluish swelling in the anus. These hemorrhoids are typically treated with either incision to remove the clot or with external hemorrhoidectomy. Simply draining the clot usually relieves the pain immediately, but it may not work well if multiple thromboses exist as it can also lead to recurrence, so it is better for patients with multiple thromboses to completely excise the thrombosed hemorrhoids.
I have an interesting story that happened while I visited China a few years ago. My friend Dave developed the thrombosed external hemorrhoid in the hotel while he accompanied me to visit a new resort town after an academic exchange in China. I went to a local hospital in the town and identified myself. The medical staff believed that I was a general surgeon at Shanghai Medical University twenty years ago and that currently I practice in the US. Surprisingly, the staff in the local hospital was very helpful and generous, and I managed to return with latex gloves, a scalpel, syringes, a pack of gauze, and a bottle of Lidocaine. I got Dave down on the bed and we did an incision and draining procedure right there in the hotel. The relief was immediate and other than a little bleeding for a day or so, the problem was solved.
If anyone in the Minneapolis and St Paul areas develops the sudden onset of severe rectal pain, please call us immediately. We will accommodate to your urgent medical needs and offer the same day care.
