Hepatobiliary surgery treatment in Singapore

Lee Chin Li

General surgery · Singapore

Dr Lee Chin Li is a general surgeon at Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore. His interests include keyhole (laparoscopy) surgery of the liver and pancreas, bile duct cancers, and complex pancreatic and liver surgeries. Apart from performing complex surgeries, he also treats skin lumps/abscesses, haemorrhoids, gallstone diseases and gastritis, and offers gastroscopy, hernia surgery, colonic surgery, management of appendicitis, colonoscopy and cancer screening. He was the founding head of the division of hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery and a consultant general surgeon at JurongHealth Campus, National University Health System (NUHS). He was instrumental in building up the unit to a four-consultant unit providing comprehensive general surgical and complex hepato-pancreato-biliary services. He was also a former visiting consultant at the National University Hospital. Dr Lee graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and undertook his basic and advanced surgical training in Singapore. He further obtained his membership of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and master’s in surgery from the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is also accredited as a specialist upon obtaining his fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, UK. He frequently visits centres of excellence in laparoscopic and hepato-pancreatic and biliary (HPB) surgeries in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan to keep abreast with advancements in surgeries. He is a member of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association and a life member of Hepatopancreatobiliary Association (Singapore). He is also a clinical lecturer at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and a frequent examiner for medical students in the MBBS examinations. He often lectures in local and regional courses on medical and nursing education. For his efforts in education, he was awarded the JurongHealth Excellence in Teaching Award and Best Tutor Award by the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. He constantly trains senior residents and junior consultants in advanced laparoscopic surgery and complex HPB surgeries. He is frequently invited to teach in local and regional workshops for trainees. Apart from clinical and academic commitments, Dr Lee is an advocate for clinical quality and standards. He has sat on quality improvement and audit committees at JurongHealth Campus, NUHS. As a clinical lead for the value driven outcome project on laparoscopic cholecystectomy, he was appointed by the Ministry of Health as a member of the laparoscopic cholecystectomy clinician workgroup.

Lee Ser Yee

General surgery · Singapore

Dr Lee Ser Yee is a general surgeon at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore. He is a dual USA fellowship-trained hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) and liver transplant surgeon, having completed fellowships in centres such as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weil Cornell Medical Center. He subspecialises in hepatopancreatobiliary surgery and liver transplantation. His area of expertise lies in minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopic and robotic surgery in the treatment of liver, gallbladder and pancreatic diseases and cancers. Prior to private practice, Dr Lee was a founding member and senior consultant at the department of HPB and transplant surgery at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). He served as the director of the laparoscopic programme and the surgical skills training programme at the SingHealth Surgical Skills Centre. He started his medical training at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1996 and completed his training in general surgery, HPB surgery, and liver transplantation at SGH and National Cancer Centre, Singapore. He is passionate about training and education and was an associate professor in Duke-NUS Medical School and a senior clinical lecturer in NUS. He has also chaired and conducted many advanced surgical courses and has been invited to give lectures at several conferences worldwide. He has authored more than 150 scientific publications, including top journals such as Annals of Surgery, as well as written 2 surgical books and 70 book chapters. He has led research teams as the principal and co-investigator for several local and international clinical studies. He currently sits on the editorial and reviewer boards of more than 30 international medical journals. He is a founding member of the Singapore HPB Association (HPBA-S), Faculty of Surgery Trainers, Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh), Singapore Robotic Surgery Society, and the International Laparoscopic Liver Society. He also serves in the committees of the Chapter of General Surgeons, HPBA-S and the International Association of Surgeons, Gastroenterologists and Oncologists (IASGO). Dr Lee believes that with his training and clinical experience, combined with his expertise in the principles and techniques of HPB, transplantation and surgical oncology, he is well positioned to tackle even the most advanced cancers. He also believes that each patient’s healing journey is unique and is best undertaken with the patient’s participation and engagement in formulating a holistic and comprehensive treatment plan. He is a recipient of several accolades, such as the National Service Excellence Award and the Singapore Health Quality Service Award (Star).

Lee Tswen Wen Victor

General surgery · Singapore

Dr Lee is formally trained in liver transplants, kidney transplants and simultaneous pancreas kidney transplants in addition to complex hepatobiliary pancreatic surgery. He specialises in surgery for liver tumours, major pancreatic surgery and biliary surgery. He is well regarded for his laparoscopic skills especially for gallbladder and gallstone surgery. Prior to joining Gleneagles Hospital, Dr Lee was senior consultant and the former director of the Centre for Digestive and Liver Disease (CDLD) at the Singapore General Hospital from 2013 to 2015. The Centre has a patient attendance of more than 500 patients a day for hepatobiliary, gastroenterology, upper gastrointestinal and colorectal diseases. Dr Lee is also the co-director of the Pancreas Transplant Programme in Singapore. He is accredited to perform transplant surgeries of the liver, kidney and pancreas. He is an executive member of the Society of Transplantation, Singapore. He is also a member of the International Pancreas & Islet Transplantation Association and The Transplantation Society. Dr Lee is an experienced laparoscopic surgeon for cholecystectomy and liver resection. He has been an invited speaker for many international and regional conferences for liver surgery and laparoscopic surgery. In addition, he has performed single-site “scarless” surgery in live demonstrations on numerous occasions. He is an executive member of the Endoscopic & Laparoscopic Surgeons of Asia (Singapore). He is also an advocate of the adoption of new surgical technology that can result in safer outcomes and quicker recovery for patients such as microwave ablation therapy for inoperable liver tumours. Dr Lee’s dedication to ensuring the best outcome for his patients has earned him the Service Quality Award in 2014 while at the Singapore General Hospital. He is an adjunct assistant professor at National University of Singapore, and adjunct assistant professor at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School. Dr Lee is actively involved in research and has won many grants. He is also actively involved in medical device innovation and islet cell research, and has registered patents for his work. Dr Lee has authored several publications in peer-reviewed journals and has contributed to a transplant book chapter. He has been featured in the media for his work. He has also written many articles for public health education.

Thng Yongxian

General surgery · Singapore

Dr Thng Yongxian is a general and hepatopancreatobiliary surgeon at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Singapore. His subspecialties are hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, and minimally invasive surgery for hernias, gallbladder and gastrointestinal surgery. Prior to joining private practice, Dr Thng was a consultant in the department of general surgery at the National University Health System and Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH). Dr Thng graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS). He subsequently completed his basic and advanced surgical training at the National University Hospital. He was admitted as a fellow to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, UK and the Academy of Medicine, Singapore. He pursued his fellowship training in hepatopancreatobiliary surgery and liver transplant first in the department of hepatopancreatobiliary surgery at the Singapore General Hospital, followed by a clinical fellowship in minimally invasive hepatopancreatobiliary surgery at Seoul National University Hospital Bundang, South Korea. He also did further surgical training at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in Taiwan, Prince of Wales Hospital’s hepatopancreatobiliary division in Hong Kong and Heidelberg University Hospital’s hepatopancreatobiliary and visceral transplant department in Germany. Dr Thng served as a clinical lead of the hepatopancreatobiliary division and pioneered the use of minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery for complex pancreatic and liver surgery at NTFGH. As an advocate for value-driven care for patients, Dr Thng was a member of the Ministry of Health’s laparoscopic cholecystectomy clinician workgroup for value-driven care. He was also the clinical lead for the laparoscopic cholecystectomy value-driven outcome programme at NTFGH, where he was responsible for ensuring quality care for patients requiring a cholecystectomy. He also led the diagnosis-related workgroup helping to increase hospital subventions to decrease cost to patients while providing quality healthcare. On the research front, Dr Thng was invited to present his minimally invasive hepatopancreatobiliary surgical videos at the best video sessions during international surgical conferences. He also received the A-STAR-Medtech innovation grant to develop a novel wearable in-sole to monitor foot pressure. He has also published in international peer-reviewed journals on resection of complex liver malignancies. Besides his clinical work, he is a senior clinical lecturer at NUS. He is a member of the International Hepatopancreatobiliary Association and the International Laparoscopic Liver Society. Dr Thng is a recipient of the Singapore Armed Forces Mobile Surgical Team Good service medal and the COVID-19 Resilience Medal.