Dr Dennis Koh graduated from University of Nottingham, United Kingdom with a Bachelor in Medicine and Bachelor in Surgery (MBBS) as well as a Bachelor in Medical Science. He then furthered his medical education and embarked on his surgical training in Singapore. He obtained his Master of Medicine in Surgery from National University of Singapore in 2005.
Dr Koh proceeded to complete his advanced surgical training with Singapore General Hospital and became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2009. He was also admitted as a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine (Surgery) of Singapore in the same year. He was awarded the SingHealth Health Manpower Development Plan (HMDP) Award and furthered his training in Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève (HUG), Switzerland.
Dr Koh was a consultant surgeon in the Department of Colorectal Surgery in Singapore General Hospital, one of the most progressive and comprehensive Colorectal Units in Singapore, before setting up his own private practice in 2016. He is also the current Clinical Governance Officer of Curasia Endoscopy Centre.
With a special interest in colorectal surgery, Dr Koh has performed numerous colon and rectal surgeries, both open and minimally invasive. To date, he has performed more than ten thousand endoscopic procedures. He believes that each surgery should be adapted and tweaked to each patient’s unique case and situation with minimal impact on the patient’s lifestyle which allows for better outcomes. He also believes that patient care lies not only in a good surgical outcome but also with good communication and information sharing with both the patients and their loved ones. He is a firm believer of providing adequate and accurate information to the patients to aid them to come to good informed decisions with regards to their health and treatments.
Besides his passion for clinical practice, Dr Koh firmly believes in the importance of training the next generation of surgeons. He held several teaching appointments including Assistant Professor with Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and Clinical Senior Lecturer in Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. As a core faculty member of the SingHealth General Surgery Residency Program, he was actively involved in residency teaching and surgical skills training. He conducted and trained medical students and surgical trainees in endoscopy and laparoscopic skills with the use of stimulation machines. He also conducted many animal and cadaveric workshops to teach both local and overseas surgical trainees and surgeons. He was consistently ranked highly by his medical students and surgical trainees for his outstanding teachings.
Dr. Frances Lim is a double board-certified general surgery and colorectal surgeon. She
received her Medical Doctor degree from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. She completed a General Surgery residency at the State University of New York in Syracuse
New York, USA and then completed a fellowship in Colon and Rectal surgery at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., USA.
Throughout her distinguished career, Dr Lim has held numerous prominent positions including as a Senior Consultant to the National Cancer Institute Singapore (NCIS) and to the Division of Colorectal Surgery at National University Health System (NUHS) Singapore.
Dr Lim has been the Program Director for the General Surgery Residency as well as the past Program Director for the Colorectal Surgery Fellowship Program at the NUHS in Singapore. In these roles, she worked closely with surgical residents to ensure quality physicians. She pushed her residents to think outside the box, take a holistic approach to the patient, and utilize evidence-based medicine. She stressed upon her residents the importance of a good bedside manner as well as listening, and talking, to the patient and their families.
An internationally known physician, Dr Lim has been a speaker on numerous gastroenterological procedures and patient management topics at conferences ranging from the Endoscopic Laparoscopic Surgeons of Asia to the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. She is well published in countless peer-reviewed journals and has written chapters for medical textbooks. Always seeking to improve patient care she was awarded the A*Star BEP Grant for a disposable, self-administered haemorrhoidal therapy device where she was the Lead Clinical Co-Principal Investigator. This device is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is currently in the process of patent application around the world.
While Dr Lim is skilled in a wide range of Colorectal and general surgeries, her main interests lie in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Colorectal Cancer. She respects patient preferences and takes the time to explain all medical options available to them so they can make the best decision for themselves. Utilizing evidence-based medicine, her approach to patient care is much appreciated by her patients and their families. As a skilled laparoscopic surgeon, she always attempts to utilize minimally invasive procedures on her patients whenever possible to shorten recovery time and improve patient outcomes.
Dr Lim also has a keen interest in promoting screening for colorectal cancer. She believes that through education and support, more will come forward for screening, and eventually, we will see this cancer dropping off the #1 list.
Dr Sharon Koh graduated from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (MBBS) where she also obtained her Masters of Medicine in General Surgery. She then completed her advanced surgical training in both National University Hospital and Singapore General Hospital and obtained her fellowship diploma from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2013 and obtained her accreditation as a specialist in General Surgery in 2014.
Dr Koh’s subspecialties are in colorectal surgery, minimally invasive surgery and advanced endoscopy. She completed her 18-month fellowship of advanced colorectal surgery with a special focus on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) under the mentorship of Professor Phillip R Fleshner alongside a team of ten colorectal surgeons at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, USA after being awarded the Academic Medicine Development Award (AMDA) by the National University Hospital of Singapore.
Dr Koh is a fully qualified and trained general surgeon, with subspecialty training in colorectal surgery, minimally invasive surgery and advanced endoscopy. She was the Former Director of Endoscopy of Alexandra Health, National University Health Services. She spent time under the proctorship of Professor Hironori Yamamoto both locally and in Jichi, Japan during her years of training in NUH to develop her skills in both diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy.
Dr Koh believes in extending her medical care beyond that of the hospital grounds and believes that both holistic and quality care can be achieved when patients’ well-being is the heart of her service.
Dr Koh has published several peer-reviewed papers in the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and Annals of surgery journals and presented her research in several international conferences. She was also awarded the International Organization of Inflammatory
Bowel Disease (IOIBD) research grant in 2014. She has also published papers and a book chapter on endoscopic management of both benign and malignant lesions in the gastrointestinal tract.
Dr Koh is currently a member in the Society of Colorectal Surgeons locally and an international member of the European Society of Coloproctology and has participated in several GlobalSurg Collaborative cohort studies from 2018-2020. As a former Director of Endoscopy in Alexandra Integrated Health, she participated in the planning and running of the endoscopy center from 2018-2020. She is currently a senior clinical lecturer with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
Dr Pauleon Tan graduated in 2007 from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS) from which he also obtained his Masters of Medicine in Surgery. He subsequently completed his specialist training and became Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh in 2016. He was awarded the Ministry of Health – Health Manpower Development Plan (HMDP) Award and furthered his advanced colorectal surgical training in one of the top 5 units in Japan at Saitama International Medical Center.
Dr Tan has subspecialty interest in colorectal surgery and has treated many patients with colon, rectal or anal surgery. Having trained in Japan, Dr Tan has honed the technique of D3 colorectal resections which enables more lymph nodes to be retrieved during cancer surgery.
After serving in the public sector for over 15 years in various hospitals including Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), Dr Tan is well-versed in treating both general surgical conditions and colorectal diseases. He is experienced in minimally invasive surgery and endoscopy (gastroscopy and colonoscopy), including advanced endoscopic resections like Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD).
Dr Tan held the position of the Clinical Director of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme in KTPH and is a committee member of the Singapore Cancer Society Colorectal Cancer Awareness Campaign. He was also the Surgical Department Lead of the Nutrition Workgroup at KTPH.
Dr Tan’s passion is in preventing colorectal cancer via lifestyle changes, early polyp detection and removal. He believes in a tailored approach to each individual as every patient will have different backgrounds and needs.
Before leaving for private practice, Dr Tan was a core faculty member in the National Healthcare Group General Surgery Residency Programme – consistently being highly ranked as an invaluable mentor and teacher to younger surgeons. He was also active in teaching medical students, holding positions as Clinical Teacher and Adjunct Lecturer with Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine as well as Clinical Lecturer with Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS
Our host, Jerald Foo, will be taking you to our first centre at Jurong East.
