"The liver is an enigmatic organ with over 500 functions and has a unique ability to regenerate, which allows removal of large parts of the organ in cancers and makes it possible to perform living donor liver transplant. A lifetime is not enough to understand the organ and I am privileged to be a part of the community which advances the science."
Early in his career in medicine, A/Prof Shridhar found his calling in the operating room. Surgery – for all its challenges and complexities, high pressure and exacting demands – is a state in which he finds himself at his best. Requiring intense concentration and focus, A/Prof Shridhar often finds himself in an immersive state of flow -- a state of mind described by renowned psychologist, the late Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, as a phase of genuine satisfaction and the secret to happiness.
A/Prof Shridhar graduated from Grant Medical College, Bombay University, India in 1994. He then underwent training in Surgical Oncology at the Tata Memorial Hospital; Mumbai and was admitted as a Fellow to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, UK, in 1999. He completed his Advanced Specialty training in General Surgery at the National University Hospital in 2005 and admitted as a Fellow to the College of Surgeons, Academy of Medicine of Singapore.
As a recipient of the Human Manpower Development Programme (HMDP) scholarship in 2006, A/Prof Shridhar went to pursue a Fellowship in Liver surgery and Liver transplantation at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan.
Today he is a Senior Consultant, Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Co-Director of the National University Centre for Organ Transplantation (NUCOT), and Surgical Director and Senior Consultant in the Adult Liver Transplant Programme, NUCOT, at National University Hospital (NUH). He has over 15 years' experience in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery and liver transplantation.
Leading the way in liver surgery
In his role as a leader and innovator in the field, A/Prof Shridhar has developed enhanced clinical pathways and protocols for patients undergoing liver transplantation. He has also contributed actively to the development of Adult Living Donor Liver transplant programme and Donor Surgery for Paediatric Living Donor Liver Transplant at the NUH.
A/Prof Shridhar has also led several quality improvement projects in the hospital in the area of bettering the outcomes of hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery. These include improved processes to reduce the length of stay and driving more efficient discharge processes.
These efforts together have led to better patient safety, outcomes and satisfaction.
Adding value and knowledge in the field
A/Prof Shridhar has a keen interest in surgical education and served as the programme director for general surgery residency programme from 2010 to 2018. He successfully led the first ACGME-I accreditation for General Surgery residency outside of United States.
Believing strongly that doctors must learn from every patient but not learn 'on' patients, he is dedicated to making surgery safer. To this end, he is committed to raising the level of training for surgery and has initiated, developed and designed a comprehensive surgical skills training curriculum for general surgery training.
A/Prof Shridhar is the Founding Member of the Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (Singapore) and serves as the current president of the HPBA(S) and president of the Society of Transplantation (SOT) Singapore. In these roles he looks forward to connecting the professionals across the country and pushing the boundaries of the discipline to serve the people better.
Besides his work in surgical education and training, he also spends his time on his research interests. These include hepatobiliary diseases and different aspects of living donor liver transplantation, for which he has secured several competitive grants. He has published over 70 articles in peer reviewed scientific journals and over 100 presentations at international meetings.