Abstract
In 1882, Walter Whitehead introduced his technique for the radical cure of hemorrhoids. In this paper, he describes an almost circumferential incision around the rectum leaving only strips of mucous membrane continuous with the skin. Five years later, in 1887, Whitehead presented 300 consecutive cases of symptomatic hemorrhoids that had been cured using a new technique. In this article, he discusses using exclusively a circumferential incision, thereby modifying his own original procedure. This modified procedure is known today as the Whitehead or complete hemorrhoidectomy.
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References
Bonello JC (1988) Who’s afraid of the dentate line? The Whitehead hemorrhoidectomy. Am J Surg 156: 182–6
Whitehead W (1882) The surgical treatment of hemorrhoids. BMJ 1: 148–50
Whitehead W (1887) Three hundred consecutive cases of hemorrhoids cured by excision. BMJ 1: 449
Wolff BG, Culp, CE (1988) The Whitehead hemorrhoidectomy. An unjustly maligned procedure. Dis Colon Rectum 31: 587–90
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© 2002 Springer-Verlag London
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Bonello, J.C. (2002). “Total” Hemorrhoidectomy. In: Mann, C.V. (eds) Surgical Treatment of Haemorrhoids. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3727-6_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3727-6_15
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-3729-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-3727-6
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