 Patients eat normally until the operation. The rectal ampulla is emptied the evening before surgery. From midnight the patients fast and drink two glasses of sweet juice at 06.00 am before the operation. TED stockings are used to prevent thrombosis per- and post-operatively until the mobilisation criteria have been met. 5000 IU of Fragmin are injected subcutaneously from day 0. Individual prescriptions are made for patients with sclerotic diseases. Per-operative infection prophylaxis is standardised. 