Man's rare triple hernias repaired with new surgical technique

Novel method is harder to perform but is less costly and complications are rare

- Lee Li Ying

Bus driver Lee Chiow Jin left his hernia untreated for over two years, and it developed into a potentially life-threatening situation.

A hernia is a condition where part of an organ, such as the intestines, protrudes through a cavity wall. Causes include congenital defects, obesity and previous surgery.

The 48-year-old Singapore PR, who lives in Johor Bahru and travels daily to Singapore for work, had to rush to a hospital emergency room in February 2024 when the discomfort became too much to bear.

"There was a pulling sensation in my abdomen and I felt extremely bloated and uncomfortable. I had not been able to pass motion for two days," said Mr Lee in an interview with The Sunday Times in Mandarin.

It turned out that Mr Lee had an extremely rare case of not just one, but three hernias.

Two of them, known as inguinal hernias, had developed in the groin area, on both the left and right side.

The other was incisional hernia, where Mr Lee's intestines got stuck along the weakened area of the scar from a prior colon surgery, causing pain and discomfort.

His intestines became blocked and inflamed, and would have burst, causing a serious infection.

In March, Mr Lee underwent an eight-hour surgery to repair all three hernias, in which Dr Marc Ong, consultant at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital's (KTPH) general surgery department, employed a new surgical technique.