Savioz D Roche B Glauser T Dobrinov A Ludwig C Marti MC 1998 Rubber band ligation is a well established treatment of internal second-degree hemorrhoids. Up to now, the long-term results (> 5 years) of this method have not been assessed. The aim of this study was to determine the long-term success rate of rubber band ligation in patients with a first episode of second-degree hemorrhoids not responding to medical treatment (local cream with laxative). A total of 92 patients who were treated between 1979 and 1997 for second-degree hemorrhoids responded to a questionnaire. The need for complementary conservative (sclerotherapy, cryotherapy or rubber band ligation) or surgical treatment was considered indicative of relapse. The collected data were analyzed according to the Kaplan-Meier method. The average follow-up time was 5.6 years. There were 21 patients who suffered a relapse. The probability of successful treatment was 0.77 (range: 0.67-0.88) after 5 years and 0.68 (range: 0.5-0.86) after 10.6 years. We conclude that rubber band ligation represent an efficient long-term treatment for second-degree hemorrhoids. Approximately two thirds of the patients are cured after 5 years and more than a half after 10 years. https://sonar.ch/global/documents/26704 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1007/s003840050156 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/9810517 International journal of colorectal disease. - 1998 Female Follow-Up Studies Hemorrhoids Humans Ligation Male Middle Aged Recurrence Retrospective Studies Time Factors Treatment Outcome Rubber band ligation of hemorrhoids: relapse as a function of time. http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501