Singapore-based liver expert to address int’l gab in Manila

A noted Singapore-based surgeon who has performed some of the world’s breakthrough liver surgeries, including the first live donor live transplant in the United Kingdom, is coming to Manila this March to keynote an international medical conference on the study of the liver, organizers said.

Dr. Tan Kai Chah, more popularly known as Dr. KC Tan, will also discuss with local experts and prospective patients the numerous advantages of seeking liver transplant in Singapore over other traditional destinations such as the United States not only in terms of treatment cost but also in terms of travel and convenience to patients.

Tan will speak during the 16th Conference of the Asia-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver, which will be held on March 5-8 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City. The gathering is organized by the Philippine Society of Gastroenterology.

Tan has performed more than 800 liver transplant operations in the UK alone, and many more pioneering procedures such as the first "split-liver" transplant operation where the donor graft was divided and transplanted to two recipients.

During his tenure as senior liver transplant surgeon at London’s King’s College Hospital from 1986 to 1994, Tan trained 26 surgeons in hepatobiliary and liver transplant surgery.

He also advised and helped implement the Irish National Liver Transplant Program in St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin and was a consultant surgeon at the National University Hospital in Singapore.

However, it was at Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore where Tan performed the first successful adult-adult living donor liver transplant in Southeast Asia.

He is currently the consultant surgeon at Gleneagles, one of the three leading acute-care hospitals in Singapore operated by the Parkway Group Healthcare.

During his visit, Tan will explain how liver disease patients from the Philippines can conveniently and cost-effectively seek quality and advanced treatment in Singapore.

Singapore is currently the leading medical tourism hub in Asia, offering high medical standards, comprehensive healthcare facilities and state-of-the-art technologies that provide immense benefits toward high quality patient care and better treatment outcomes.

In the Philippines, the Parkway Group Healthcare has also opened its Medical Referral Center (MRC) at the Medical Plaza Makati, which may be reached at 751-8225 and 27.

The referral center is designed to help local patients access the right specialist expertise, personalized patient care and cutting-edge technology available at all Parkway hospitals in Singapore and across Asia.

The MRC offers free services in connecting patients to relevant medical services in real time.

"We believe that Filipino patients deserve world-class and affordable treatment without having to go through the hassle of securing visas and other stringent travel requirements. Our office here can even arrange to airlift patients to Singapore should such a need arise," said Kelly Low, Parkway’s marketing and country manager in the Philippines.