The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at NUH has its roots and origins in the University Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, set up in 1952 at the Singapore General Hospital with Professor J A P Cameron as the Head of Department. The Orthopaedic and Traumatic Surgery service established was one of the earliest in this region. At that time, it served a population of nearly one million people, including some patients from the surrounding countries. Undergraduate teaching started at the same time, with a comprehensive, broad-based, clinically oriented programme emphasising practical and basic common problems in Orthopaedic and traumatic surgery. The Department also became closely
associated with the training of Orthopaedic
surgeons from
countries under the Colombo Plan, and this association developed to an
international level when the World Orthopaedic Concern was formed in
Singapore. This commitment to teaching and patient care
resulted
in the recognition of the University Department as one of the finest
Orthopaedic Surgery programmes in East Asia in the 1960s through early
1980s.On 24 June 1985, the University Department moved into the newly-built National University Hospital, and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at NUH was formally established under the leadership of Professor Kamal Bose. In the twenty years since its inception, the Department has continued its tradition of combining world class medical care in orthopaedic problems, with an excellent teaching programme for undergraduates and postgraduates. Under the keen stewardship of Professor Bose (1985-98), Professor Lee Eng Hin (1998-2001), Professor K. Satkunanantham (2001-4) and most recently Professor Wong Hee Kit (2004-present), the Department has flourished.
There
are
currently 5 Divisions responsible for the subspeciality care of
orthopaedic patients in the fields of Adult
Reconstructive Surgery,
Paediatric Orthopaedic
Surgery, Spinal
Surgery,
Orthopaedic Sports Medicine
and Orthopaedic
Trauma Surgery. The various Divisions actively
organise
various
courses for practising surgeons, as well as surgeons in training.
Some of these courses on advanced surgical techniques attract
visiting doctors from as far away as China and the Indian Subcontinent.
The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is
also a
major teaching center
for undergraduate medical students from the Yong
Loo Lin School of Medicine. It attracts 6-10 Basic Surgery
Trainees and 4-5 Advanced Orthopaedic Surgery Trainees each
year.
There are 4-5 International
Fellows in Orthopaedic Surgery every
year.