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​General Surgery

The Department of General Surgery at Changi General Hospital consists of dedicated and specialised doctors offering a wide range of surgical services.

These surgical services include the following:

Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery

Laparoscopic surgery is also called minimally invasive surgery or keyhole surgery. A laparoscope, which is like a thin telescope with a light source, is passed into the abdomen (belly) through a small incision (cut) in the skin. In laparoscopic surgery, a surgeon operates using fine instruments passed into the belly.

  • Diagnostic laparoscopy
  • Laparoscopic appendicectomy
  • Hernia repair
  • Cholecystectomy (the surgical removal of the gallbladder)
  • Intra-operative cholangiogram
  • Common bile duct exploration
  • Repair of perforated peptic ulcer (bleeding ulcer)
  • Laparoscopic adrenalectomy (the surgical removal of the adrenal gland through a small incision in the abdomen)
  • Fundoplication (to treat gastro-esophageal reflux disease, commonly called ‘heartburn’)
  • Colectomy (to remove all or part of your colon)
  • Laparoscopy-assisted oesophagectomy (for treatment of oesophago-gastric cancers)
  • Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass for morbid obesity
  • Laparoscopic surgery for advanced malignancies, diagnostic and bypass surgery
  • Thoracoscopic sympathectomy for sweaty palms

Breast Surgery

  • One-stop breast health clinic - Breast Centre @ changi
  • Breast cancer screening and assessment
  • Breast cancer myths
  • Surgery for benign breast lump
  • Mammotome® biopsy for breast lesions
  • Surgery breast cancer
  • Breast reconstruction
  • Positive appearance service
  • Breast counselling service
  • Support group for breast cancer patient and family
  • Multi-disciplinary approach to breast cancer management

Colorectal Surgery

  • Mnagement and staging of colorectal cancer
  • Multi-disciplinary approach to colorectal cancer management
  • Diagnostic and therapeutic lower gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy
  • Management of colorectal polyps
  • Evaluation and management of functional disorders of the colon, rectum and anus; including incontinence especially in geriatric patients.
  • Minimal access colorectal surgery for benign and malignant conditions
  • Stoma care team to care for patients with stoma

Gastrointestinal Oncology Clinic

Weekly clinic with medical oncologists (cancer doctors) from the National Cancer Centre to manage cancer patients requiring chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

General Surgery

  • Investigation and management of gastrointestinal tract bleeding & acute and chronic stomach pain
  • Management of patients requiring enteral and parenteral feeding on advice from nutrition team
  • Trauma surgery with multidisciplinary management
  • Oncology (cancer) surgery, including soft tissue tumour resection
  • Neurosurgery for trauma and haemorrhagic strokes (bleeding in the brain)
  • Ambulatory surgery (also known as outpatient or day surgery) for excision for skin lumps and anorectal conditions (‘anorectal’ refers to the anus and rectum).

Head and Neck Surgery

  • Checkup for and treatment of thyroid diseases, including thyroid cancers
  • Parotid and other salivary gland surgery
  • Treatment of head cancer and neck cancer, comprehensive management with reconstructive surgery
  • Head and neck endocrine disease, including thyroid and parathyroid glands
  • Mnagement of nasopharyngeal cancer

Hepatobiliary Surgery

  • Surgery of the liver and biliary (bile) tract for benign and malignant diseases
  • Liver resection for malignancies and benign liver diseases, segmental and extended hepatectomy (surgical removal of the liver).
  • Management of biliary tract strictures: post-inflammatory, post-surgical, malignancies
  • Surgery for benign diseases and pancreatic cancer
  • Minimal access management of gallstones in the gallbladder and biliary tract and cancers of the gallbladder, liver and biliary duct
  • Combining laparoscopic cholecystectomy, therapeutic ERCP and laparoscopic exploration of the common bile duct. ERCP stands for endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreaticogram, a specialized technique using endoscopy and X rays to study drainage tubes of the gallbladder, pancreas, and liver. ERCP can also be used to remove gallstones or take small samples of tissue for analysis.
  • Diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreaticogram (ERCP) for benign and malignant biliary tract and pancreatic diseases
  • Endoscopic and operative management of liver cirrhosis, portal hypertension, oesophageal varices

Hernia Surgery

  • Hernia surgery including inguinal (groin) and incisional (site of a previous operation) hernia repair

Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Surgery

  • Management of upper gastrointestinal tract disorders, including peptic ulcer and gastro-oesophageal reflux diseases and other motility disorders. Motility disorders apply to abnormal intestinal contractions, such as spasms and intestinal paralysis.
  • Surgery for benign and malignant diseases of the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum (the first section of the small intestine), e.g. gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, achalasia and oesophageal diverticulum. This includes surgery for stomach / gastric cancer and oesophagus cancer.
  • Diagnostic and therapeutic upper GI endoscopy, including percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy
  • Endoscopic insertion of feeding tubes

Bariatric Surgery

  • Bariatric surgery or obesity surgery is suitable for:
    • the morbidly obese with BMI > 37.5 (based on BMI values for Asians)
    • the morbidly obese with BMI > 32.5 (based on BMI values for Asians) with other medical complications of obesity such as sleep apnoea, diabetes, hypertension.
    • those who are unsuccessful in any weight loss attempts with or without medical supervision.

A variety of weight loss operations are available, including laparoscopic gastric banding (lap band surgery), laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and laparoscopic gastric bypass.

Vascular Surgery

  • Management of arterial and venous leg ulcers
  • Diabetic limb salvage and wound care
  • Vricose veins—ligation and stripping, Endovenous Laser Therapy or EVLT (a minimally invasive ultrasound-guided technique using lasers), ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy, microsclerotherapy
  • Peripheral arterial disease (PAD)
    Symptoms: claudication (meaning discomfort, pain or weakness in your legs when walking), rest pain and tissue loss.
    Treatments: Bypass surgery, angioplasty and stenting
  • Endovascular stenting to treat aortic aneurysm (a weakened and bulging area in the aorta, which is the body’s main blood vessel) and thoracic aortic disease
  • Carotid artery disease (the carotid artery is the artery that supplies the head and neck with oxygenated blood)
    Symptoms: a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), a non-disabling stroke
    Treatment: carotid endarterectomy, (a surgical procedure to reduce the risk of stroke by clearing away fatty deposits (plaque) from the carotid artery), carotid stenting
  • Vascular access for haemodialysis (haemodialysis cleans the blood by removing the toxic waste and excess water), procedures for peritoneal dialysis (cleaning the blood through a tube inserted in the abdomen).
  • Amputations for non-salvageable limbs
  • Vascular emergencies and trauma
  • Mesenteric and renovascular diseases—surgery, angioplasty, stenting
  • Vascular malformations (or abnormalities in the blood vessels)
  • Management of complicated deep vein thrombosis - bypass, thrombolysis, angioplasty stenting
  • IV Filter placement