Adjunct Assistant Professor Harish Sivasubramanian is an award-winning Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in Singapore, specialising in robotic hip and knee replacement, minimally invasive joint replacement surgery, sports knee surgery, and complex revision hip and knee reconstruction.
He practices at the National University Hospital, with a clinical focus on helping patients with hip and knee arthritis, painful or stiff joints, sports-related knee injuries, failed previous joint replacements, and complex hip and knee deformities regain mobility, independence, and quality of life.
Adj Asst Prof Harish is known for combining surgical precision, advanced robotic technology, minimally invasive techniques, and rapid-recovery protocols to deliver individualised care for every patient. His approach focuses not only on achieving excellent surgical outcomes, but also on helping patients recover safely, walk earlier, reduce pain, regain confidence, and return to the activities that matter most to them.
He was appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine in recognition of his contributions to clinical education, research, and the training of future doctors.
Adj Asst Prof Harish graduated from the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. During medical school, he undertook clinical training attachments with world-class Orthopaedic teams at Harvard University’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles. These early international experiences shaped his interest in joint reconstruction, surgical innovation, and patient-centred recovery.
He was subsequently appointed a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and conferred the Master of Medicine in Orthopaedic Surgery by the National University of Singapore. He completed specialist training in Orthopaedic Surgery and was appointed a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore.
Adj Asst Prof Harish was awarded the prestigious College of Surgeons Gold Medal by the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, as the nation’s top-performing Orthopaedic Surgeon in his specialist exit examinations. He is also the first Singaporean Orthopaedic Surgeon to receive the Ministry of Health’s Health Manpower Development Plan Award for advanced surgical fellowship training at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States, one of the world’s leading academic medical centres. During his fellowship, he received advanced training in robotic joint replacement surgery, minimally invasive total knee replacement, partial knee replacement, patellofemoral knee replacement, and complex hip and knee reconstruction.
At Johns Hopkins, Adj Asst Prof Harish further refined his expertise in muscle-sparing and minimally invasive hip replacement techniques, including the Direct Anterior Approach (DAA) and the Superior Transverse Atraumatic Reconstruction (STAR) approach. In suitable patients, these techniques aim to reduce soft-tissue disruption, support earlier mobilisation, and enable a smoother recovery after hip replacement surgery.
He also underwent advanced clinical visitations at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Scotland, Darlington Memorial Hospital in England, and the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, widely considered the world’s leading centre for Orthopaedic Surgery. Through these international experiences, he gained exposure to advanced techniques in robotic surgery, minimally invasive joint replacement, revision reconstruction, and enhanced recovery after hip and knee replacement.
At NUH, Adj Asst Prof Harish pioneered the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery programme for total knee replacement, transforming the surgical journey for patients by enabling faster recovery, shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, and lower overall healthcare costs. His work in value-based healthcare and surgical pathway redesign has contributed to award-winning improvements in patient care, clinical efficiency, and service quality.
Drawing from his training in the United States and other leading international centres, Adj Asst Prof Harish applies rapid-recovery principles to his own patients. These include meticulous surgical technique, precise implant positioning, modern pain-control strategies, swelling-reduction protocols, early mobilisation, structured rehabilitation, and close coordination across the surgical, anaesthesia, nursing, physiotherapy, and care-management teams.
Adj Asst Prof Harish believes that every patient’s condition, lifestyle, goals, and recovery journey are unique. His treatment philosophy is therefore individualised, holistic, and stepwise. For patients with hip and knee pain, he considers the full spectrum of care — including lifestyle modification, physiotherapy, medications, injections, biologic therapies, minimally invasive key-hole surgery, robotic-assisted partial or total joint replacement, and complex revision surgery where required.
His clinical expertise includes:
Hip conditions:
• Hip arthritis and degeneration
• Hip osteonecrosis and avascular necrosis
• Minimally invasive total hip replacement
• Robotic-assisted total hip replacement
• Direct anterior approach hip replacement (DAA)
• Complex hip reconstruction
• Revision hip replacement for painful, loose, infected, unstable, or failed hip implants
Knee conditions:
• Knee arthritis and degeneration
• Robotic-assisted total knee replacement
• Robotic-assisted partial knee replacement
• Patellofemoral knee replacement
• Sports-related knee injuries
• Meniscus, cartilage, and ligament injuries
• Knee arthroscopy and minimally invasive knee surgery
• Complex knee reconstruction for deformity
• Revision knee replacement for painful, loose, infected, unstable, or failed knee implants
Complex and specialised care:
• Failed or painful previous joint replacements
• Second-opinion consultations
• High-risk or medically complex patients requiring joint replacement
• Patients seeking rapid-recovery pathways after hip or knee replacement
• Patients seeking robotic-assisted and minimally invasive surgical options
Adj Asst Prof Harish is a certified trainer for robotic-assisted joint replacement surgery and regularly teaches surgeons across the region. He is actively involved in regional surgical education, sharing techniques in robotic arthroplasty, minimally invasive surgery, revision reconstruction, and enhanced recovery pathways.
He is a member of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons and the International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology. He is also an active researcher, with publications in peer-reviewed international journals and presentations at conferences in Europe, Australasia, and Southeast Asia. His academic work reflects his commitment to evidence-based practice, innovation, and continual improvement in patient outcomes.
Adj Asst Prof Harish and his team have received multiple national-level service and quality-improvement awards for their work in improving the patient surgical journey, reducing hospital stay, enhancing recovery, and raising the standard of care for patients undergoing hip and knee replacement.
Beyond surgery, Adj Asst Prof Harish serves as an Officer Commanding in the Singapore Armed Forces and volunteers actively in community health outreach. He was previously recognised nationally as one of the NCSS 40-Under-40 honourees, reflecting his contributions not only as a surgeon, but also as a leader committed to improving health literacy, public service, and the wider healthcare landscape in Singapore.
His philosophy is simple: to deliver precise, personalised, and compassionate care that restores not only movement, but confidence, independence, and quality of life.
