Excuse me, but do you need the number for a piles specialist?

Kidding. You probably don’t and in any case, I don’t have one.

While walking along the pre-war shophouses to Yut Kee, a signboard caught my eye. Hello Tong Nam Piles Specialist!

How fascinating was that?? The aged window displays beckoned me closer for a look. Some were faded black and white photos of… uhm, the affliction of piles. You can view it here on my Flickr. At this point, you’re going to thank me for not putting up photos of hemorrhoids on my blog.

Turns out, the guy who owned this shop was a traditional healer for piles! Apparently he could do it without surgery nor pain! Sounds unbelievable? Well let’s see what some of his grateful patients had to say!

Mr. O.L. Borneman of Macgregors Ltd, a company incorporated under the Companies Ordinances of Hong Kong with its address in Kuala Lumpur at 12, Batu Road wrote this on the 12th June 1940:

Dear Mr Lau Ping Hsiang,

I should like to take this opportunity to thank you for the very great care and attention which you have given me during the three weeks I was undergoing your treatment for severe bleeding piles. The fact you have effected a complete cure without any dangerous operation and with no pain other than that occasioned by the disease itself speaks very highly indeed for your skill and the medicines you used. I am very grateful to you.

Yours very truly,
Signed, O.L. Borneman

It must have had been a really good cure! To have someone in a high position (think 1940) admit that he had piles, write a thank-you letter/testimonial and allow it to be seen by all.

Seriously if I had piles, I don’t know if I’d like the whole world to know…

A couple more letters, which I’m going to transcribe because they were gold.

Saya dengan sesunggohnya memperakui bahawa En. Allan Chung Ah Chye ialah seorang doktor pakar buasir yang pandai. Pada masa ini beliau bertugas di Tong Nam Piles Specialist No. 47, Jalan Campbell, Kuala Lumpur bolih mengubatkan penyakit buasir tuan-tuan/puan-puan dalam masa tiga (3) ataur empat (4) minggu dengan tidak payah dibedah atau dipotong dengan bayaran yang berpatutan.

Saya dengan benar,
Abdul Ghani B. Dain
Ketua Kerani
Yunit Penyelidikan Sosio-Ekonomi dan Perancang Am,
Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Kuala Lumpur

Stamp of approval from someone in the Prime Minister’s Department, not bad huh? But wait, check out this next one!

Kuala Lumpur, 08 July 1971

To Whom It May Concern

This is to state that it gives me great pleasure to state that bearer, Mr. Allan Chung Ah Chye; Piles Specialist with the Tong Nam Piles Clinic, 47 Jalan Dang Wangi, Kuala Lumpur is what he claims to be that he could cure piles without resorting to operation. To my knowledge his claim to be able to cure piles within three to four weeks, without resorting to operation is correct.

Signed, Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Khan

… A TAN SRI?!? Impressive! How many Tan Sris these days would write such a glowing testimonial for you?

I found that there was a “Tan Sri Haji Abdul Hamid Khan bin Haji Sakhawat Ali Khan” who served as President of the Senate from February 1971 till February 1973. Which means that the letter was written when he held the position!

This little shop is beyond great, it’s amazing! So much history! I wish I could learn more about them. Stuff like who they learned their healing skills from, who were the main healers, how many piles specialists were there in the city back then (i.e. competition), what happened to them, who owns the shop, how come the exterior of the shop and the signboard are still in good condition, etc.

So many questions! Doesn’t it make you curious too?

For more photos and larger resolutions, check out the Flickr set here.

Update April 2015: Since this post, I’ve been back to the area a few times and have seen this shop in operation. I do not know if the piles healers are from the same people who first started this shop. A new sign is up, with their e-mail address on display. Use at your own risk: pilesfistula@gmail.com.