Lord's procedure for haemorrhoids: a prospective anal pressure study.

Forty-eight patients treated by Lord's procedure were studied prospectively with preoperative and several postoperative anal pressure recordings over at least 5 years. Excellent long term results were obtained in the patients with first and second-degree haemorrhoids but only just under half of those with third-degree haemorrhoids were symptom-free. There was some evidence that patients with the most active internal sphincter had the best clinical results. Pressure was significantly reduced by dilatation and pressure remained static over the next 5 years. Five patients developed recurrent symptoms between 1 and 5 years after dilatation. It was not possible to predict relapse from serial anal pressure measurements.