Patients enrolled in the study, after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, signed the consent form, and responded to a questionaire about epidemiological data and hemorrhoidal symptoms, are (and will be) randomly allocated to one of the two arms of the study: G1: a single major hemorrhoidal group is ligated in each of three sessions of hemorrhoidal ligation, while the two other hemorrhoidal groups are submitted to sham ligation (a McGown aspirating type of hemorrhoidal ligator is employed); G2: all three major hemorrhoidal groups are ligated in the first session of treatment and in the next two sessions only sham ligations are performed. Three sessions of hemorrhoidal and/or sham ligation are performed in all patients, each spaced by one month from the other. A final consultation is held 1 month after the third ligation session in order to gather all the results of the treatment.