Irene De Silva’s brave front belies the pain and suffering she went through during her 12 major operations since 1976 – two caesarean sections, breast surgery, ovarian cystectomy, total hysterectomy and most recently, a hernia operation.

Scar-lined stomach

“My stomach looks like a war zone! There are all these scars,” says Irene who works as a hotel reservations executive. In 2004, a few months after a surgery to remove an ovarian cyst, she felt a ‘lump’ near her navel. It would ‘appear’ and then ‘disappear’. In the early days, there was no pain, so she thought nothing of it. Then, over time, it became bigger, more painful and tender to the touch.

“At first I could feel the lump when I was standing up. It disappeared when I lay down. But after that it grew to the size of my fist, whether I was standing or lying down. It also got painful,” recalled Irene, 47. Her husband, Bernard, 53, was by her side throughout her ordeal.

When the ‘lump’ became painful, she was diagnosed as suffering from incisional hernia. Her abdominal muscles had weakened after the many surgeries. Irene was then referred to Singapore General Hospital and seen by Associate Professor Peter Mack. 

Surgery ten months later

Because of her history, A/ Prof Mack felt Irene needed to recover more completely from her ovarian cyst surgery. During that time, she was monitored closely by A/ Prof Mack and was advised to eat small portions to make sure she chewed properly to aid digestion and avoid excruciating pain. She was successfully operated on in January last year, after ten months.

Irene is grateful to the care and attention provided by A/ Prof Mack. “He is such a wonderful doctor, always going the extra mile in providing care and concern for all his patients. In all the time before my operation, he made sure that I was well. He always had time to listen when I told him about the pain I was going through. He explained to me the signs to look out for if the pain got worse. He did an excellent job.”