Credentials MBBS (Singapore), MRCS (Edin), MMed (ORL), FRCS (Glasg), FAMS
Language English, Mandarin Chinese, Hokkien Dialect, Cantonese Dialect
Background

Dr Mark Hon Wah Ignatius

  • Director of Sleep Services
  • Consultant ENT Surgeon

Dr Mark is a Consultant Ear Nose Throat Surgeon and Director of Sleep Services in Ascent Ear Nose Throat Specialist Group.

His special interests include the treatment of Snoring, Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, Sleep Disorders, Nasal obstruction, Thyroid lumps and Cancers of the Head and Neck region.

Dr Mark received his medical degree from the National University of Singapore in 1994. He underwent his specialty training in ENT in Singapore under the National ENT Training programme. He completed his Membership examinations in Surgery and was admitted as a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1999. In 2002, he obtained his Masters of Medicine degree from NUS in Otolaryngology and completed his Fellowship examinations in Otolaryngology from the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians of Glasgow.

Dr Mark was awarded the SingHealth Health Manpower Development Plan Award in 2005 to do a fellowship in Sleep Surgery at Stanford University, USA. The Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic is an international leading clinical and research centre for Sleep Medicine and Stanford was where many of the pioneering surgical techniques to treat snoring and sleep apnoea were first described. Dr Mark has passed the American Board examinations in Sleep Medicine in 2006 and is therefore qualified as a certified Sleep Specialist by the American Board of Sleep Medicine, making him one of a few Sleep Specialists worldwide and the only ENT Surgeon in Singapore with this prestigious qualification.

Dr Mark is actively involved in education and clinical science research and was the principal and co-investigator of several research projects involving Obstructive Sleep Apnoea and Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma. He has written a book on polysomnography (sleep studies) and has contributed to several book chapters on otorhinolaryngology and sleep medicine. He is actively involved in lecturing at many sleep medicine and otorhinolaryngology conferences in the Asia Pacific Region and also continues to teach medical students and post-graduate ENT residents in Singapore. He is also active in the Singapore Sleep Society and was the Chairperson of the Singapore Sleep Awareness Week campaign conducted in March 2010. He is currently the Vice-President of the Society.

Achievements

Dr Mark received his medical degree from the National University of Singapore in 1994. He underwent his specialty training in ENT in Singapore under the National ENT Training programme. He completed his Membership examinations in Surgery and was admitted as a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1999. In 2002, he obtained his Masters of Medicine degree from NUS in Otolaryngology and completed his Fellowship examinations in Otolaryngology from the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians of Glasgow.

Dr Mark was awarded the SingHealth Health Manpower Development Plan Award in 2005 to do a fellowship in Sleep Surgery at Stanford University, USA. He trained under the leading pioneers of Sleep Surgery, Professor Richard Goode, A/Professor Nelson Powell and A/Professor Robert Riley in 2006. They first described and refined many of the surgical procedures currently in use today for the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. The Sleep Disorders Clinic at Stanford is also a leading clinical and research internationally centre for Sleep Medicine. Dr Mark was fortunate to be able to spend time there with leaders of Sleep Medicine like Professor Christian Guilleminault, Dr Rafael Pelayo and Dr Anstella D Robinson to benefit from their vast experience in the area of Sleep Medicine. He passed the American Board examinations in Sleep Medicine in 2006 and was certified a Sleep Specialist by the American Board of Sleep Medicine. This makes him one of a few ENT Specialists worldwide and the only ENT Surgeon in Singapore with this prestigious qualification.

While he was with the Singapore General Hospital, Dr Mark was in charge of running the Sleep Clinic in the Department of Otolaryngology to streamline the management of patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. He was also on staff at the Sleep Disorders Unit in SGH to treat patients with Sleep Disorders and to provide surgical expertise to patients who require surgery for the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea and Snoring. The Sleep Disorders Unit is a multi-disciplinary unit consisting of Neurologists, Respiratory Physicians, Psychiatrists, ENT surgeons, Dental Specialists, Psychologists and Sleep Technicians providing comprehensive outpatient and inpatient care to patients with sleep disorders.