Dr Hong Choon Chiet, Andrew is a dual fellowship-trained Orthopaedic surgeon. His expertise include the management of sporting injuries, simple and complex trauma with degenerative conditions of the lower limb, particularly of the Foot and Ankle. He is a Consultant in the Division of Foot and Ankle Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at National University Hospital (NUH). He is also a Consultant for the Division of Hip & Knee Surgery and Sports Medicine & Surgery, NUH. In addition, he is an Adjunct Assistant Professor for Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS) as well as a Clinical Teacher for the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
He obtained his medical degree from NUS. During the course of his training, he attained membership with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (MRCSEd) and completed his Diploma in Tissue Banking (Distinction) with NUS. Subsequently, he was conferred the NUS Master of Medicine (MMed) degree in Orthopaedic Surgery, completed his specialist training and was accepted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh (FRCSEd Orth). Additionally, he was also awarded the College of Surgeons Gold Medal in Orthopaedic Surgery for the best performing candidate that year in Singapore.
Dr Hong was awarded Best Junior Resident Award during his training, Best Poster and Young Investigator Award in the Asia Pacific Conference on Diabetic Limb Problems in 2013 and 2014 respectively and Outstanding Teaching Award 2017/2018 from NUS. He was also selected for the NUHS Residency Leadership Development Programme from 2016-2017 which is an institutional programmes aimed at moulding future healthcare leaders. After completing his residency training locally, he further completed 2 clinical fellowships in Germany and the UK respectively in order to hone his skills in his pursuit to improve patient outcomes.
In Germany, Dr Hong completed a clinical fellowship in the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden which is an established AO (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen) Trauma Center of Excellence. He undertook training from Prof Stefan Rammelt who is the key opinion leader in foot and ankle trauma where he accrued considerable experience in managing complex foot and ankle trauma conditions as well as posttraumatic deformity correction.
Following that, he received further training in the second clinical fellowship in the world-renowned Fortius Clinic in London, UK which is an accredited FIFA Medical Center of Excellence as well as an ESSKA (European Society of Sports and Knee Arthroscopy) approved teaching center. Dr Hong was mentored by Prof James Calder who is an eminent and distinguished leader in the field of Sports Foot and Ankle where he participated in the care of many international elite athletes such as those from the English Premier League, European football teams, Premiership Rugby clubs, British Athletics, England Cricket and Royal Ballet. There, he gained proficiency in revision ligament reconstruction, syndesmosis reconstruction, ankle cartilage treatment, Achilles tendon disorders, stress fractures and posterior ankle impingement especially in high level elite athletes and dancers. In this fellowship, he spent time with Dr Stephane Guillo who is the founder of the International Ankle Instability Group in SOS Pied Cheville, Clinique du Sport, Bordeaux, France where he learned advanced arthroscopic techniques for the foot and ankle while treating French athletes. In line with his keen interest in minimally invasive surgery, Dr Hong also trained under Mr Lloyd Williams in the King Edward VII’s and Princess Grace Hospitals to sharpen his skills in minimally invasive surgery for bunion correction, osteotomies, toe and ankle replacements.
During his fellowship in Fortius Clinic, he participated in many cases of ankle replacements with Mr Peter Rosenfeld who was a National Reference Surgeon for Salto Ankle Prosthesis as well as the Head of Foot & Ankle Unit in Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Ankle replacement is not new but not often performed in our local setting. Therefore, despite his previous trainings, Dr Hong decided to further improve his skills in ankle replacement with more depth and understanding. As a result, he was awarded the IBRA (International Bone Research Association) Scholarship as a visiting clinical fellow to Basel, Switzerland to learn from Prof Victor Valderrabano who is a leading expert in the field of total ankle replacement as well as the co-inventor of one of the latest total ankle prosthesis (Vantage) designed to be more anatomical and robust for sporty patients. There, he trained under Prof Valderrabano on primary and revision ankle replacements using the Vantage prosthesis. He is well versed in both fixed and mobile bearing ankle replacements.
Dr Hong’s primary interest is in the Lower Limb and Foot & Ankle surgery. He enjoys all aspect of Foot and Ankle surgery with special focus in sporting injuries of the foot and ankle, deformity correction (hallux valgus, bunions, toe deformities, flatfoot, cavovarus foot), Charcot foot reconstruction, lower limb trauma and degenerative conditions. He is proficient in the knee, ankle and foot arthroscopy with ligament repair/reconstruction, tendinoscopy, cartilage injury management including cartilage transplant (OATS procedure), Achilles tendon disorders and foot & ankle osteotomies. Dr Hong particularly enjoys arthroscopy and keyhole procedures as he believes in minimally invasive techniques to improve outcomes which were further reinforced by his training locally and overseas. Besides, he also performs hip and knee replacements on a regular basis in addition to lower limb trauma and hip fracture management.
Orthopaedic surgery is a rapidly developing discipline with a plethora of new innovations, techniques, and treatment protocols. As such, Dr Hong is committed to constantly maintaining his knowledge and skills at the forefront of the field by actively participating in several international Orthopaedic organizations such as the ESSKA, AO, IBRA and AOFAS (American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society). Specifically, he is the first and only Singaporean to serve as the general secretary to the ESSKA-AFAS (Ankle & Foot Associates) Board 2022-2024 which is an international European group of sports-related foot and ankle surgeons aiming to improve patient care through education, research and advocacy to ensure best care for patients with sports foot and ankle injuries.
Academically, he strongly believes in evidence based orthopaedics and is active in research having published more than 60 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts including surgical techniques in the field of Foot & Ankle and Orthopaedic Trauma. Correspondingly, Dr Hong pursued and obtained his Masters of Public Health (MPH) from the Imperial College London in 2022 due to his interest in health services research, implementation science and innovations to deliver value driven outcomes for patients. Additionally, he has contributed and written 5 book chapters for Foot & Ankle textbooks. Dr Hong is also a reviewer for several top-tiered Orthopaedic journals such as Injury, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research (CORR), Bone and Joint Journal (BJJ) and Journal of Orthopaedic Research. List of publications can be viewed here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Choon-Chiet-Hong.
He was blessed with the opportunity to learn from many great mentors and teachers during his training years and for this, he is eternally grateful. Therefore, he is dedicated to both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. He regularly teaches and examines for the medical student examinations (NUS and NTU), lectures for the Emergency & Family Medicine residents, organizes postgraduate teachings in NUHS Orthopaedic Surgery Residency as well as a teaching faculty for AO Trauma.
In his free time, he enjoys cooking, swimming and family time with his loving wife and son.