Liver expert to tackle transplant woes in Cebu gab

A Singapore-based and internationally renowned surgeon who performed the first living donor liver transplant in the United Kingdom will be one of the keynote speakers during the Asia-Pacific Digestive Week Congress slated at the Waterfront International Convention Center in Cebu City on Nov. 26-29.

Dr. Tan Kai Chah, more popularly known as Dr. KC Tan, will discuss post liver transplant complications during the Nov. 27 morning session of the congress. His talk will focus on vascular complications that are critical in the success of liver transplants.

"Vascular complications are an important cause of morbidity and even mortality during the early post-operative period following liver transplantation," Tan said.

"The incidence has increased recently with the use of split and living donor liver grafts, and operative technique is the most important variable in its prevention," Tan added.

Tan said that presently, there is no substitute for meticulous surgical technique in order to ensure a successful outcome of a liver transplant procedure, which his team in Singapore has perfected.

Tan’s travel to Cebu is facilitated by the Parkway Healthcare Medical Referral Center, local representative office of the Parkway Group Healthcare of Singapore.

The referral center is at the Medical Plaza Makati, and may be reached at 751-8225 and 27.

During his Cebu visit, Tan will conduct limited consultations with selected patients, as well as see some of his previous Filipino patients who have undergone liver transplants in Singapore.

Tan has performed more than 800 liver transplant operations in the United Kingdom alone, and many were 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.

Singapore, the leading medical tourism hub in Asia, offers 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.

The local referral center, on the other hand, is designed to give Filipino patients access to the right specialist expertise, personalized patient care and cutting-edge technology available at all Parkway hospitals in Singapore and the Asian region. The MRC offers free services in connecting patients to relevant medical services in real time.