Oldest practising surgeon still going strong

By Shanika SRIYANANDA

If you can swim, Dr. 'Mas' is ready to direct you to the famous coral reef in Hikkaduwa. It will not be a mere swim, but an educational tour with information on everything about the amazing coral wealth of Hikkaduwa. Dr. 'Mas' is ready to share his knowledge about the corals in Hikkaduwa, where he spent his childhood, diving in the seas, enjoying the wonders of the corals. Even in the twilight of his life, whenever he is off his busy schedule, Dr. 'Mas' disappears in the coral reef. It brings him relief, just as playing tennis which is still his passion, does.

He is Dr. Bernard Joseph Masakorala, the famous consultant surgeon. The beauty of his story is that at the age of 81, he is still at the operating theatre, where over three quarters of his life was spent.

Dr. Masakorala fondly called 'Mas' by his teachers, colleagues and many who loves him, is an exceptional soul, who always believes in the simplicity of life. It was his parents and schools - Sinhala Government School in Hikkaduwa, Richmond College and Ananda College- that moulded him to be the man he is today.

Born on March 23, 1930 into a devout Buddhist family, Bernard until he won the Denhem Scholarship in grade five by becoming the first in the entire Galle district in 1939 at the scholarship examination, was a mischievous little brat who made his mother - Cecilia - angry by spending the whole time after school, not with books, but with corals and colourful fish species in the reef.

Being the only son in a family with three children, he was the apple of his mother's eye. While father Hendry Masakorala, a traditional veda mahaththaya, had given a little freedom to him, Cecilia always kept an eye on her putha and on some days chased him with a cane to bring him home but the boy jumped into the sea to escape his mother. "She will stay there for a while until I reached the other end of the reef and go back, knowing I would return safely before dark", Dr. Masakorala says.

He still remembers how he swam at full speed behind a beautiful scorpion fish, and was bitten in the hand. With the swollen hand, the nine-year-old boy returned home and got a good telling off by his amma who later gently applied oil on his hand and advised him not to continue such mischievous activities.

His monthly scholarship of Rs. 10 was doubled with his double promotion at the Government English School. "I did not have any childhood dreams, but always wanted to study. My mother did not force me to study, but kept an eye on me. She always taught me about life and what was right and wrong. My parents let me be practical rather than be a bookworm", he recalls.

He studied at Richmond College, Galle up to his SSC and enrolled at Ananda College, Colombo. "We will never see the likes of the teachers we had those days. I still remember physics and it was like a novel because of the teaching skills of a teacher named Ondaatjie. Those days government schools engaged the best teachers from institutions such as Pembroke Academy, on a lecture basis; this enabled schools to woo top quality tutors for their students".

Bernard, who was selected to the Medical Faculty, accidentally turned into a part-time English tutor at the age of 19. "Unlike now, there were only a few students and we were assigned to take care of patients. I looked after Ven. Baddegama Wimalawansa Thera. He invited me to teach English to the bhikkhus at the Ode Temple. I earned a monthly salary of Rs. 60 as a part-time teacher and it was interesting teaching young Samaneras, who used to ask various questions", he says.

Highly complicated surgeries

The veteran surgeon, who has a record of performing over 2,500 surgeries including highly complicated goitre surgeries, which he is famous for, had started his internship at the maternity section of the Galle Hospital. He recalls the days at the Deniyaya Hospital, where he was first appointed for a monthly salary of Rs. 750.

"That experience was something modern day consultants miss. I walked miles and miles, performed post-mortems on five-day old badly decomposed bodies with gunshot injuries for long hours. Chats with villagers and enjoying the real village life were great experiences which helped me a lot", says Dr. Masakorala, who says one would forget the awful smell of decomposed bodies once the person is fully immersed in the inquiry.

In an era when private practice was unheard of, Dr. Masakorala earned an additional income as he received 'estate calls' to treat patients, which brought him Rs. 15 per call. Even though the colonial era was coming to an end, the planters still lived lavishly.

Another experience he will never forget was how he saved the life of a woman who was diagnosed with hydro cepholous - a baby with a huge head. She had been referred to the Galle hospital, but after ignoring medical advice ,many days later she sought treatment at the Deniyaya Hospital as she was undergoing immense pain. "It was raining heavily and Akuressa was heavily flooded. Transferring the patient to Galle was impossible. I could not allow that woman to die and I was just after my internship. I felt helpless, but was determined to save her life. I immediately took her to the labour room and Palihawadena, the AMP, used the chloroform mask as anaesthesia had not been introduced yet. I felt the baby's head. Due to her condition I had to use a horrible looking instrument called cranial perforator. It must now be in the museum. Since we were using chloroform, we had to complete the operation on time. With this instrument, we delivered the baby", he says after taking a long breath.

"It was heart-wrenching to see the baby gasping and this is something that I still have been unable to get over. At least I could save the mother's life", the experienced surgeon says. He removes his spectacles and wipes tears off his eyes.

After a stint of three years in Deniyaya, he was transferred to the Cancer Hospital, Maharagama, where he was the House Officer to (now Prof) Dr. Henry Nanayakkara, who encouraged him to sit for the Primary FRCS and gave him Rs. 50 to buy a physiology book.

After passing the exam, the young Dr. Masakorala married Bandu in 1962. While serving at the General Hospital Colombo, he got through the MRCOG examination and later became the Senior House Officer of the Castle Street Hospital for women. He says he was lucky to be trained under Prof Nanayakkara, who also encouraged him to apply for a surgical scholarship. "I don't know if anyone ever will receive the kind of training he gave me for one and a half years", he says.

During the first weeks in his new posting at the Accident Service in 1967, he was asked to perform an urgent operation on an influential person who had been knocked down by a vehicle in the middle of the night. As the patient came in with Consultant Anaesthetic Dr. Ponnambalam, he was forced to reserve his judgement - that the patient who suffered from retro peritonel haemorrhage need not be operated.

Higher studies

However, he was just 27 years and had arrived after pursuing higher studies in England, and felt nervous. He sought the advice of Dr. P. R. Anthonis. "I telephoned and informed him about the situation. Believe me, he said: 'Masakorala I will be there". He rushed to the hospital before 12 midnight. We opened the man, and just as I had thought there was nothing to do. We just opened and closed him. The man survived", he says.

The 1971 JVP insurrection forced Dr. Masakorala to hide in the ceiling of the neighbour's house as the JVPers wanted to abduct him to perform surgeries on insurgents. Later he sought 'refuge' at the Police station following the instructions of SP Ana Seneviratne, who later became IGP. The Government Agent was K.H.J. Wijayadasa who was later Secretary to President R. Premadasa.

Among his most unforgettable memories during this era was an incident where six civilians were badly wounded due to gunshots. "I cannot explain the horror of the scene where the six people were laid on the floor with multiple injuries. I started performing surgeries on them. The whole day I struggled to save their lives. Former Army Commander General Cyril Ranatunge was a Colonel and in charge of the area's security at the time. While I was going through the surgeries, he phoned and asked me: "Mas, what have you been up to?" The six civilians escaped death and paid their gratitude by visiting Dr. Masakorala every year.

Love for tennis

But through all this he did not forget his love for tennis. He bought his first tennis racket for Rs. 32 with his savings as an English tutor. At the Matara Hospital, he formed a tennis club, and at 4.00 p.m. he, accompanied by another tennis enthusiast - Anaesthetic Ganeshamurthi- were in the tennis court. Both were back in the theatre for the night shift after a good session of tennis.

He made headlines with the removal of a huge bladder stone weighing over a kilo from a man in Matara. "I used forceps like in the delivery of a baby to remove that bladder stone. People rushed to the hospital to see the 'biggest' ever stone removed from a man's bladder".

Having performed many challenging surgeries, he wants to be known as an expert in goitre surgeries which were complicated and requires precision skills. Dr. Masakorala, who performed goitre surgeries, which left no marks, recently gave it up as his knees hurt after performing the two-hour long surgery.

Asked about the happiest days in his life, he says it was his childhood where he enjoyed life near the sea sans hotels or pollution. "I cry when I see how the corals are now damaged at Hikkaduwa. There are no new corals there now. They are declining at an alarming rate. No one has seen the beauty of those corals that I used to see those days. They have been destroyed to build hotels and restaurants", Dr. Masakorala says, stressing the need for tough laws and regulations to protect the country's rich coral wealth.

"I have seen turtles hatch eggs and the hatchlings forming a straight line to the sea. I have been observing the behaviour of those creatures along the Hikkaduwa beach and the reef as a 10-year-old boy. Today's children miss such activities as they are in a rat race with their parents. I think parents should never force their children to study", Dr. Masakorala says.

He, who had been blessed to learn under people such as Abraham T. Kavoor, a rationalist, at Richmond College Galle, volunteered to perform surgeries on casualties during the Vadamarachchi operation. He believes that he should first serve the people of Sri Lanka, who paid for him to become a doctor, and flatly refused offers to serve in foreign countries. His two children - Shiromi and Rohan - were sad when they were small as they had longed to study abroad, but learned the value of serving the country through their father.

"I did not go behind money. I respect the values of life rather than monetary gains. I had time for my family, time for my favourite sport - tennis, time to be lost in the jungles, time to listen to music and time to go on trips with my family with my meagre earnings as a government servant", Dr. Masakorala says he is happy when he looks back on his life.

His wife, Bandu was his strength and partner in tennis matches, where the couple won many awards. A member of the Senior Old Anandians Group, Dr. Masakorala joins his colleagues on trips, mainly to archaeological sites and wildlife reserves. There is no wildlife park that he has not visited.

Listening to his favourite singer W. D. Amaradeva and reading mostly books on Buddhism and archaeology, he and his wife travels around the globe. The best wildlife experiences outside Sri Lanka they enjoyed were their trips to Kenya and Alaska. Dr. Masakorala, who had a collection of wildlife photographs, gave up his passion for photography some years ago. "The secret of my life is inner happiness. I have nothing to grumble about. I am satisfied about my life and what I achieved. My two children are doing well and we are not a burden to them. We look after ourselves. What more does one need to be happy?", the doctor who enjoys a simple diet with more veggies and fruits and less meat, queries.

Dr. Masakorala wonders why patients still consult him and want him to perform surgeries. He still does consultancies six days a week and performs three to four minor surgeries at a private hospital " I don't encourage people to come to me for surgeries, but they still want me", he says.

Every Sunday he is in the Health Ministry Sports Club playing tennis. He, bought a new Honda Civic, last week (he still drives) and says his tennis keeps him going.

"I am just 81 plus", and one of the oldest still practising surgeons quips.

Pic: Shanika Sriyananda