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Neurological dysfunction is a leading cause of disability, affecting more than 276 million people worldwide.1 Over the last decades, the prevalence of neurological dysfunction...

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Over the last 20 years, it has become evident that the age-old expression, “the eye is the window into the soul”, might in fact...

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Dear Editor, Endophthalmitis refers to the inflammation of the ocular cavities and their immediate adjacent structures without extension beyond the sclera, usually secondary to...

Glaucoma Pattern Amongst the Elderly Chinese in Singapore

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The Sixth SGH Lecture—Singapore: A New Venice of the 21st Century

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A Case Series of Ocular Disease as the Primary Manifestation in Sarcoidosis

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Trends in the Pattern of Blindness and Major Ocular Diseases in Singapore and Asia

Singapore’s population has grown rapidly since 1965, the year in which it gained independence. The total population enumerated at its first census in 1970...

Ambulatory Anorectal Surgery—Is it Feasible Locally?

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Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in persons between the age of 24 and 64 years both in the US and the...

Trilateral Retinoblastoma—A Case Report

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Medicine and Surgery—History, Change and Challenge

Mr Koh Yong Guan, guest-of-honour; Dr Tan Ser Kiat, Master, Academy of Medicine; Dr K C Tan, Chairman, Chapter of Surgeons; Dr Robert Jalleh...

Current Continuing Medical Education Provision in Singapore

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Early 21st Century Professional Practice: Change and Challenge

Today is a day of rejoicing for all of you, graduates, parents, relatives and loved ones. I can share in your joy and also...

9th Seah Cheng Siang Memorial Lecture: Gastric Cancer—Where are we now?

The last two decades have witnessed dramatic changes in the understanding of gastric cancer: a rapid decline in global incidence, its association with Helicobacter...

Excimer Laser Phototherapeutic Keratectomy for Recurrent Corneal Erosions

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Use of EMLA Cream or Alfentanil for Analgesia during Ophthalmic Nerve Blocks

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New Treatment and Research Strategies for the Improvement of Care of Cleft Lip and Palate Patients in the New Millennium

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Young Investigator’s Award: Induction of Apoptosis Following Traumatic Head Injury in Humans

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8th Seah Cheng Siang Memorial Lecture: New Antithrombotic Agents

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3rd Yahya Cohen Lecture: The Role of the Myofibroblast-Like Cell in Hepatocellular Carcinoma—Host Defence?

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9th Chapter of Surgeons’ Lecture: The Orthopaedic Surgeon: Historical Perspective, Ethical Considerations and the Future

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1998 Distinguished Academician Lecture: Hepatic Resection— A Western Perspective

Although debridement of portions of liver that prolapsed through war wounds was recorded from distant times, attempts at resection of a solid liver tumour...

1998 Runme Shaw Memorial Lecture: Somatic Evolution of Cancer

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14th Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration: Continuity and Change

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The Future of Medicine from the Standpoint of the Practising Paediatrician

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Retinopathy of Prematurity in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

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Diabetic Retinopathy

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Cross-Sectional Study of Near-work and Myopia in Kindergarten Children in Singapore

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Address by the Master, Academy of Medicine, Singapore at the 2000 Annual Induction Dinner—Learn the Past, Ensure the Future

I am delighted to share this celebratory occasion with you. It is a time for congratulations all round not only to our new Fellows...

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The Correction of Oriental Lower Lid Involutional Entropion Using the Combined Procedure

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Myopia: Gene-environment Interaction

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3rd Tan Tock Seng Hospital Oration: The Changing Fabric of Medicine—An Ethical and Social Revolution

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Management of Growth Arrest with Tissue-engineered Cells

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10th Chapter of Surgeons’ Lecture: The Challenges in Surgery—Past, Present and Future, and in Search of the 4Cs

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Opening Address by Dr Chee Yam Cheng, Master, Academy of Medicine, Singapore at the 33rd Annual Combined Surgical Meeting on 4 November 1999 at the COMB Auditorium

It is a pleasure to be present with you all at your 33rd Annual Combined Surgical Meeting for 1999 with less than 60 days...

Funding and Future Diagnosis Related Group Development

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Clinical Pathways or Case Management

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Getting Clinicians Involved: The Australian Experience

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Causes and Management of Descemet’s Membrane Detachment Associated with Cataract Surgery—Not Always a Benign Problem

It is well known that stripping of Descemet’s membrane (DM) occurs not infrequently during cataract surgery. In 1928, Samuels described frequent DM detachments of...

The 4th Tan Tock Seng Hospital Oration: Challenge for the Medical Profession in the 21st Century

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Alternate Modes of Financing Health Care Technology

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The Runme Shaw Memorial Lecture 2000—Treating VIPs in Washington

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12th Chapter of Surgeons Lecture: Shifting Paradigms in the Management of Breast Cancer—A Surgical Perspective

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5th Tan Tock Seng Hospital Oration: Advances for Life

I am honoured and privileged to have been invited to deliver the 5th Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) Oration at the Opening of your...

Age-related Macular Degeneration: What’s New

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Visual Rehabilitation with New-Age Rigid Gas-Permeable Scleral Contact Lenses—A Case Series

Advanced primary corneal ectasia presents a difficult problem in terms of visual rehabilitation. Soft contact lenses do not address the astigmatic aberrations in these...

Is Healthcare Competition Healthy?

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Primary Meningococcal Arthritis and Endogenous Endophthalmitis: A Case Report

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Gyrate Atrophy of the Choroid: Two Cases

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Neonatology In Singapore: The Way We Were, The Way Forward

Over a span of 35 years of my working life, I have witnessed the growth of, and also grown together with, neonatology in Singapore....

Significance of the Lateral Epiphysis of the Acetabulum to Hip Joint Stability

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) remains one of the most difficult disorders to understand and treat in Paediatric Orthopaedics. The aetiology have not...

Craniofacial Anomalies: Clinical and Molecular Perspectives

Cleidocranial dysplasia is an autosomal dominant skeletal disorder characterized by short stature, brachycephaly, delayed closure of the fontanelles and sutures, Wormian bones, midface hypoplasia,...

Autoimmune Liver Disease in Children

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HIV/AIDS in Children

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in Asia has grown from a handful of cases to a major...

Inaugural College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists Lecture: Recent Developments in Obstetric Care and Maternal Fetal Medicine in Singapore

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Citation on Dr Andrew Chew Guan Kuan for Admission to Honorary Fellowship on 19 August 2004

It is indeed a great pleasure and honour to present to you Dr Andrew Chew Guan Khuan, who is already a Fellow of the...

Citation on Sir Donald Irvine – 17th Gordon Arthur Ransome Orator

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Address by Master, Academy of Medicine, Singapore at the Opening Ceremony of the 38th Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine and Induction Ceremony

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Opening Ceremony of the 38th Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine with participation of the Hong Kong...

1st College of Physicians Lecture: The Role of Internal Medicine as a Specialty in the Era of Subspecialisation

It humbles me to accept the invitation to give this lecture, the First College of Physicians Lecture, titled “The Role of Internal Medicine as...

15th Chapter of Surgeons Lecture: Surgeon of the New Millennium – Surgeon, Scientist and Scholar

Next year, we celebrate a hundred years of medical education in Singapore. We have come a long way since 1821 – from a small,...

Standards and Revalidation or Recertification

In my Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration and other papers, I have described the nature and development of patient-centred professionalism, the key features of which...

Continuing Professional Development – a Surrogate for Recertification?

The Hong Kong Academy of Medicine is a statutory body set up in 1993 with the objectives of fostering the development of postgraduate medical...

Teaching and Learning of Professionalism in Medical Schools

There is now worldwide consensus that the elements of medical professionalism need to be enhanced and explicitly taught in medical schools. Medical schools in...

The Challenge of Teaching Professionalism

For the past 25 years, professionalisation, industrialisation, large-scale infusions of technology into the healthcare system and consumerism, to name a few factors, have definitely...

2004 Runme Shaw Memorial Lecture: Professionalism – A Concept in Need of Nurturing

It is a great honour to be invited to deliver the Runme Shaw Memorial Lecture. I am grateful to the Runme Shaw Foundation for...

17th Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration: Patient-centred Professionalism

When sickness strikes we all need doctors. People everywhere know that the quality of medical care can affect the outcome and possible consequences of...

The Role of Public Health and Occupational Physicians in the New Millennium

I want to thank the Chapter and organisers for honouring me with this kind invitation to speak to you. This millennium is only 4...

Flap Prefabrication – The Bridge Between Conventional Flaps and Tissue-engineered Flaps

Flap prefabrication is one of the most exciting areas in Plastic Surgery because of its bridging role between conventional reconstructive surgery and tissue engineering....

Initial Experience of Macular Translocation in Singapore – One-year Results

Choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) is a devastating complication of macular degeneration and a major cause of irreversible vision loss in many developed countries. The most...

Ocular Surface Stem Cells and Disease: Current Concepts and Clinical Applications

The ocular surface is a complex biological continuum responsible for the maintenance of corneal clarity, elaboration of a stable tear film for clear vision,...

Re: Evidence for an “epidemic” of myopia

In the Annals January 2004 theme issue on Myopia, Park and Congdon have disputed the reality of the increases in prevalence of myopia in...

Contact Lens Microbial Keratitis and Prior Topical Steroid Use: A Disaster in the Making?

Topical steroid use in cornea ulcers is still a very contentious issue in ophthalmology. A recent review by Wilhelmus found that the use of...

Integrated Hydroxyapatite Implant and Non-integrated Implants in Enucleated Asian Patients

Much has been published on the complications of integrated and non-integrated implants. Most studies on integrated implants pertain to experience with the hydroxyapatite implant,...

Refining Clinical Practice: Transforming Science Research into the Art of Medicine

I am humbled by the invitation given to me by Changi General Hospital to deliver this lecture at your 5th Annual Scientific Meeting with...

14th Chapter of Surgeons Lecture: Back to Basics

I am happy to be among old friends. As surgeons, we share a kindred spirit. I wish to thank the Academy for the honour...

The Correction of Myopia Evaluation Trial: Lessons from the Study Design

“A properly planned and executed clinical trial is a powerful technique for assessing the effectiveness of an intervention”. While each new clinical trial involves...

Myopia Progression Among Preschool Chinese Children in Hong Kong

Myopia occurs when the image of distant objects, focused by the cornea and lens, falls in front of the retina. It is the commonest...

The Epidemiology of Myopia in Hong Kong

Myopia is a refractive condition in which the image of a distant object is formed anterior to the retina of the unaccommodated (relaxed) eye....

Prevalence of Myopia in Taiwanese Schoolchildren: 1983 to 2000

Today in Taiwan, with increasing level of educational and living standard, the prevalence and severity of myopia appear to be on an upward trend....

Evidence for an “Epidemic” of Myopia

A number of authors have recently proposed that myopia is increasing at an “epidemic” rate, particularly in East Asia, and especially among populations of...

Using Natural STOP Growth Signals to Prevent Excessive Axial Elongation and the Development of Myopia

Myopia in humans results from an imbalance between the refractive power of the cornea and lens and the axial length of the eye, such...

Ocular Shape and Myopia

Myopia develops from a mismatch of the eye’s anatomical axial length and its focal length, as determined by the combined optical powers of the...

Is it Possible to Slow the Progression of Myopia?

The rates of myopia, including high myopia , have been reported to be rising to epidemic proportions in Asia and solutions to this huge...

Issues and Challenges for Myopia Research

Myopia is an ocular disorder of major public health and socioeconomic significance in many East Asian urban cities. In Singapore, the prevalence of myopia...

Accommodative Stimulus Response Curve of Emmetropes and Myopes

There is a strong association between myopia and near work, and it has been reported that the rapid rise in the prevalence of myopia...

Electrophysiological Findings in Persons With Nyctalopia

Nyctalopia is a subjective sensation of poor vision under dark conditions. It may be clinically associated with retinal diseases affecting the rod photoreceptors or...

Neisseria meningitidis Keratitis in Adults: A Case Series

Neisseria meningitidis has been reported as a causative organism for conjunctivitis and endogenous endophthalmitis, more commonly in neonates and young children. A search of...

Visual Recovery Following Emergent Orbital Decompression in Traumatic Retrobulbar Haemorrhage

Acute retrobulbar haemorrhage is a potentially sight threatening condition that can occur spontaneously or following retrobulbar injections and trauma to the orbit. Visual loss...

Macular Carotenoids and Age-related Maculopathy

The macula lutea is an anatomic region of the posterior retina that measures approximately 5.5 mm in diameter, and is exquisitely specialised for sharp...

Book Review

Ophthalmologists today depend heavily on various investigative modalities such as fluorescein angiography (FA), indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) for an...

3rd College of Physicians’ Lecture – Translational Research: From Bench to Bedside and From Bedside to Bench; Incorporating a Clinical Research Journey in IgA Nephritis (1976 to 2006)

In our quest to pursue knowledge regarding a patient’s illness or seek a cure for the disease, as doctors we have to derive the...

16th Seah Cheng Siang Memorial Lecture – The Changing Face of Cardiology Practice, Training and Research in Singapore

Professor Seah Cheng Siang was one of the most illustrious physicians of his era. During his professional career, he held the following positions: Head,...

Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator (r-TPA) in Fibrin Dissolution due to Postoperative Endophthalmitis

Cataract surgery is one of the most successful surgical procedures performed. However, postoperative endophthalmitis, defined as severe inflammation involving both the anterior and posterior...

Orbital Metastatic Tumour as Initial Manifestation of Asymptomatic Gastric Adenocarcinoma

Metastatic orbital tumour from gastric cancer is rare. In a Japanese survey of metastatic orbital tumours seen over 95 years, gastric metastases accounted for...

Eye Injuries in Singapore – Don’t Risk It. Do More. A Prospective Study

The issue of ophthalmic trauma is a major cause for concern. An estimated 55 million eye injuries occur each year worldwide, leaving 1.6 million...

Retrospective Review of Eyes with Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration Treated with Photodynamic Therapy with Verteporfin and Intravitreal Triamcinolone

Among the variety of paradigms implicated in the pathogenesis of choroidal neovascularisation (CNV), an inflammatory component has been a recent focus of interest. The...

Rates of Posterior Capsule Rupture During Cataract Surgery Among Different Races in Singapore

Posterior capsule rupture (PCR) is a potentially serious intraoperative complication of cataract surgery. The anecdotal experience of some surgeons suggests that differences in the...

3rd FY Khoo Memorial Lecture – Education, Professionalism, Outsourcing and the Future of Radiology

Radiology is undergoing unprecedented changes. Not only is the technology evolving rapidly, providing images of breathtaking anatomical clarity, but functional information has also become...

Surgically-induced Corneal Changes Following Macular Translocation with Punctate Retinotomies and Chorioscleral Infolding (Limited Macular Translocation)

Changes in corneal curvatures and astigmatism after retinal surgery are well documented. Although some of these changes are mild and transient, some have reported...

Updates on the Surgical Management of Paediatric Cataract with Primary Intraocular Lens Implantation

Paediatric cataract has a low incidence compared with adult cataract. The estimated incidence is about 1 to 6/ 10,000 births. This article is available only...

Efficacy of Measuring Visual Performance of LASIK Patients under Photopic and Mesopic Conditions

LASIK is routinely carried out to correct the refractive errors of myopic patients. A high percentage of patients have good high-contrast visual acuity after...

Role of Ultrasound Biomicroscopy (UBM) in the Detection and Localisation of Anterior Segment Foreign Bodies

The presence of an intraocular foreign body (IOFB) is a common complication of ocular trauma. For surgical planning, the localisation of IOFBs has to...

Diabetic Retinopathy in Type II Diabetics Detected by Targeted Screening Versus Newly Diagnosed in General Practice

The epidemic of type II diabetes mellitus is now recognised worldwide. In India, it has been estimated that the population with type II diabetes...

Ethical Issues in Ophthalmology and Vision Research

The importance of ethics in research was highlighted in the USA when a healthy volunteer subject, 24-year-old Ellen Roche, died in a Johns Hopkins...

Can Long-term Corticosteroids Lead to Blindness? A Case Series of Central Serous Chorioretinopathy Induced by Corticosteroids

Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) is an idiopathic disorder characterised by serous detachment of the macula, retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) detachment and areas of RPE...

A Novel Locus for X-linked Retinitis Pigmentosa

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is characterised by initial night blindness followed by progressive loss of visual fields and eventually, loss of central vision. RP is...

Utility and Validity of the Self-administered SF-36: Findings From an Older Population

The shift towards broader health perspectives and the emphasis on patient preferences have led to the development of many health questionnaires and their inclusion...

The Role of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in the Diagnosis and Management of Retinal Angiomatous Proliferation (RAP) in Patients with Age-related Macular Degeneration

Retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP), initially described as deep retinal vascular anomalous complex in 1992 by Hartnett et al, has been recently defined as a...

Axial Length: A Risk Factor for Cataractogenesis

There are several known risk factors for cataract formation, including older age, lower educational status, smoking, ultraviolet light exposure, trauma, dehydration, diabetes, uveitis and...

Clinical Features of Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa Associated with a Rhodopsin Mutation

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the most prevalent group of inherited retinopathies. This spectrum of diseases affects approximately 1 in 4800 individuals. This article is available...

A Novel Mutation of the VMD2 Gene in a Chinese Family with Best Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy

Best vitelliform macular dystrophy is an autosomal dominant disorder characterised by an egg yolk-like appearance of the macula. The vitelliform “egg yolk” lesions result...

Characterisation of Human Tear Proteins Using High-resolution Mass Spectrometry

Over the last few years, with advances in mass spectrometry, there has been increasing interest in exploring the proteome of body fluids such as...

Scanning Laser Polarimetry in Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients on Chemotherapy

Pulmonary tuberculosis is a worldwide disease. In Hong Kong, there are about 7000 new cases of pulmonary tuberculosis each year and the prevalence remains...

Time to Raise Awareness of Blindness as Another Smoking-related Condition

Singapore currently has a comprehensive range of tobacco control policies and programmes. It started implementing legislative measures against cigarette smoking in the early 1970s,...

“Galaxy in My Eye”: An Artist’s View of Cataract Surgery from Behind the Crystalline Lens

Cataract surgery is the most commonly performed elective surgery in many countries. As a result of advances in surgical and anaesthetic techniques, most cataract...

Methodologies for Interventional Myopia Studies

Past studies on intervention in myopia progression have given conflicting results. For example, in the past, studies on (PMMA) hard contact lenses took researchers...

Ethambutol-associated Optic Neuropathy

Tuberculosis (TB) has been present since ancient times. Around 460 BC, Hippocrates identified phthisis, which is the Greek term for consumption (TB seemed to...

Concurrent Intermediate Uveitis and an Enhancing Intracranial Lesion as the Initial Manifestation of Sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis remains an enigmatic disease with protean manifestations. It is a multi-system disorder of unknown cause characterised by an accumulation of T-lymphocytes, mononuclear phagocytes...

Retrobulbar Alcohol Injection for Orbital Pain Relief Under Difficult Circumstances: A Case Report

The management of pain in the orbital region, whether ocular or orbital in origin, is complex and lies at the margins of several subspecialty...

Book Review

In Retinal Vascular Disorders, Dr Mohan and co-authors cover common and important retinal vascular disorders in a series of short chapters which are written...

Vision 2020 and Prevention of Blindness: Is it Relevant or Achievable in the Modern Era?

This review article considers the universal definition of blindness, the causes of world/global blindness, and ongoing international efforts in blindness prevention. The prospects for...

Enhancement of the Mechanical and Biological Properties of a Biomembrane for Tissue Engineering the Ocular Surface

The most recent treatment for severe ocular surface disease is the transplantation of cultivated corneal and conjunctival epithelial stem cells, which makes use of...

Mycobacterium-related Ocular Inflammatory Disease: Diagnosis and Management

Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient disease that has been detected in 3000-year-old Egyptian mummies. Robert Koch’s discovery of the tubercle bacillus as the aetiologic...

Photodynamic Therapy for Choroidal Neovascularisation Secondary to Inflammatory Chorioretinal Disease

Photodynamic therapy using verteporfin (Visudyne, Novartis Ophthalmics) has been proven safe and effective for the treatment of predominantly classic, age-related macular degeneration (AMD)-related subfoveal...

Variables Determining Perceived Global Health Ranks: Findings from a Population-based Study

In 1982, Mossey and Shapiro first demonstrated that global self-rating of health was a better predictor of 7-year survival than medical records or self-reports...

Multivariate Analysis of Childhood Microbial Keratitis in South India

Corneal infection is the most common cause of profound ocular morbidity leading to blindness worldwide. Corneal infection in children is difficult to diagnose and...

Can the Sequential Use of Conventional Silicone Oil and Heavy Oil be a Strategy for the Management of Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy?

Advances in vitreoretinal surgery have greatly increased the anatomical re-attachment rate in cases with proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). The availability of perfluoro-carbon liquids, indirect viewing...

Surgical Outcomes of 25-Gauge Transconjunctival Vitrectomy Combined With Cataract Surgery for Vitreoretinal Diseases

The recent development of 25-gauge instrumentation for vitreous surgery has promoted a great interest in the transconjuctival sutureless vitrectomy system. Similar to the trend...

New Concepts in the Management of Optic Nerve Sheath Meningiomas

Optic nerve sheath meningiomas (ONSMs) account for one-third of primary optic nerve tumours, are the second most common optic nerve tumours after gliomas, and...

Ophthalmic Regional Block

Patient comfort, safety and low complication rates are the essentials of local anaesthesia. The anaesthetic requirements for ophthalmic surgery are dictated by the nature...

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Radiation-induced Optic Neuropathy

Radiation optic neuropathy (RON) is an infrequent but usually devastating consequence of radiation to the optic pathways. It is almost exclusively an iatrogenic phenomenon,...

The Natural History of Occult Choroidal Neovascularisation Associated With Age-related Macular Degeneration. A Systematic Review

Choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) is a leading cause of blindness in the western world. It causes 90% of the visual loss in age-related macular degeneration...

Retinal Prostheses for the Blind

Each year, thousands of people are afflicted with photoreceptor degenerative diseases that reduce vision to bare light perception or complete blindness. Retinitis pigmentosa (RP)...

Age-related Macular Degeneration: An Emerging Challenge for Eye Care and Public Health Professionals in the Asia Pacific Region

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a severe ocular disease characterised by progressive deterioration of the macula, the most sensitive central back portion of the...

Intravitreal Triamcinolone Acetonide for the Treatment of Diffuse Diabetic Macular Oedema – A Case Report

Focal and grid laser photocoagulation are the primary surgical treatments for diabetic macular oedema. However, laser treatment of eyes with diffuse macular oedema has...

Bruch’s Membrane Abnormalities in Dome-shaped and Mushroom-shaped Choroidal Melanomas

Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignancy and is diagnosed chiefly in the fifth to seventh decades of life. The choroid is...

Human Limbal Progenitor Cell Characteristics are Maintained in Tissue Culture

The surface of the eye is covered by 3 distinct forms of non-keratinising stratified squamous epithelium – transparent corneal epithelium overlying the corneal surface,...

Angiographic Characteristics of Acute Central Serous Chorioretinopathy in an Asian Population

Acute central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) is a condition of unknown origin characterised by a serous detachment of the macula. It afflicts young healthy adults,...

A Nationwide Survey on the Knowledge and Attitudes of Malaysian Optometry Students on Patients’ Visual Experiences During Cataract Surgery

Cataract is one of the most common causes of visual impairment in the elderly and its surgery is the most common major ophthalmic surgery,...

10th Yahya Cohen Memorial Lecture: Clinical Predictors in Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Patients with Computer-assisted Quantitative Videoendoscopic Upper Airway Analysis

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common disease, which is estimated to affect up to 2% of middle-aged women and 4% of middle-aged men.1...

New Treatments for Atopic Dermatitis – Facts, Comparisons and Uncertainties

Atopic dermatitis is associated with asthma and allergic rhinitis, and presents with a typical morphology and distribution. Eighty-four per cent of cases of atopic...

Towards 2020 Vision in Singapore

With the increasing demands of contemporary life, higher levels of visual performance are expected. In modern societies such as Singapore, many more adults will...

5th College of Physicians Lecture – A Physician’s Odyssey: Recollections and Reflections

Allow me to thank you Mr President and your Council for asking me to deliver the 5th College of Physicians Lecture. Your President has...

Fungal Pan-sinusitis with Severe Visual Loss in Uncontrolled Diabetes

Fungi are known opportunistic organisms, which potentially invade and infect a host with depressed immunity. Fungal pan-sinusitis complicated with orbital apex syndrome or cavernous...

Prevalence of Refractive Error in Malay Primary School Children in Suburban Area of Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia

Refractive error remains one of the primary causes of visual impairment in children worldwide. Prevalence of visual impairment in children, is defined as uncorrected...

Opening Our Eyes to Guide Dogs for the Blind in Singapore

The concept of the modern guide dog first began in Germany after World War I in an effort to support veterans blinded in combat....

Diabetic Retinopathy in Diabetics Referred to a Tertiary Centre from a Nationwide Screening Programme

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of vision loss in Asia. Singapore has one of the highest prevalence rates of diabetes mellitus (DM)...

Brachytherapy – One Man’s Meat, A Personal Journey in Radiation Oncology

Dr Tan Kim Ping, Chairman for the Dr FY Khoo Memorial Lecture, Ladies and Gentlemen – It is a signal honour for me to...

Retinal and Cardiovascular Diseases: The “Common Soil” Theory

There is increasing evidence that retinal and cardiovascular diseases share a “common soil”. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and...

Progressive Hemi-facial Atrophy and Keratoconus

Progressive hemifacial atrophy (Parry-Romberg syndrome, PHA) is characterised by slowly progressive atrophy, usually involving one side of the face, and may be associated with...

4th FY Khoo Memorial Lecture 2008: Nasopharyngeal Cancer Workgroup – The Past, The Present and The Future

Thank you Madam Chairman. First, I would like to thank the Singapore Radiological Society and the College of Radiologists, Academy of Medicine Singapore for...

Effects on the Contralateral Eye After Intravitreal Bevacizumab and Ranibizumab Injections: A Case Report

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is recognised as an important mediator in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinal neovascularisation. Anti-VEGF therapies...

3rd College of Paediatrics and Child Health Lecture – The Past, the Present and the Shape of Things to Come…

In the post-war days of the 1950s, Singapore children were faced with problems of malnutrition and infectious diseases. There was poverty, overcrowded housing and...

Current Understanding of the Treatment and Outcome of Acute Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma: An Asian Perspective

Primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) is a major cause of irreversible blindness in Asia and many parts of the world. It is a particularly serious...

Acute Concomitant Esotropia during Heroin Detoxification

Although acute concomitant esotropia following heroin detoxification or withdrawal has been described in a few case reports in Europe and Australia, it has not...

Intraocular Avastin (Bevacizumab) for Neovascularisation of the Iris and Neovascular Glaucoma

Neovascularisation of the iris is associated with many ischaemia retinal disorders and elevated levels of the vascular endothelial growth factor is found in patients...

The Role of Electrophysiology in the Diagnosis and Management of Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

Cervical spondylosis is an extremely common condition managed by both physicians and surgeons in daily clinical practice. Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM), resulting from longstanding...

Demands and Challenges of Modern Medicine

I am deeply honoured by the invitation to deliver the 16th Tun Dr Ismail Oration and I wish to thank the Master and Council...

Happenings in Histopathology – A Post-World War II Perspective

During the past few decades, there have been many significant developments in the practice of histopathology, the specialty that is also referred to as...

Lack of Awareness amongst Community Patients with Diabetes and Diabetic Retinopathy: The Singapore Malay Eye Study

Diabetes is a major public health problem, and diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working-aged people.1 Previous studies have documented poor...

Tumour Interstitial Fluid Pressure May Regulate Angiogenic Factors in Osteosarcoma

Solid tumours have states of raised interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) that cause significant changes to their physiology.1-3 We have previously shown that human osteosarcomas...

Surgical Training – The Challenge of Change

President of the College of Surgeons, distinguished guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great honour and a unique privilege for me to...

Preparedness for Terrorism: Managing Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Threats

Preparedness for terrorism in the 21st century includes addressing the management of nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) terrorism events. Understanding the terrorist threat and...

Cysticercosis of the Levator Palpebrae Superioris

Cysticercosis cellulosae, the larval form of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium, causes cysticercosis, in which humans serve as the intermediate hosts in the parasite life cycle. Cysticercosis...

5th College of Surgeons Lectureship: Surgery beyond Scalpels

The training of surgeons composed of two aspects: (1) Clinical skill and competence; (2) The ‘soft’ skill and ‘art’ of surgery. With the gradual...

The Evolution of Radiology from Paraclinical to Clinical

I would like to thank the Academy of Medicine and the Singapore Radiological Society for giving me the honour of delivering this year’s F...

Intraretinal Segmentation on Fourier Domain Optical Coherence Tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has become an indispensable tool in the management of retinal and optic nerve diseases as well as in clinical trials....

Intravitreal Bevacizumab for the Treatment of Myopic Choroidal Neovascularisation in an Asian Population

Myopic choroidal neovascularisation (mCNV) is one of the most common causes of permanent central visual loss in patients with high myopia, and its natural...

3rd College of Surgeons Lecture — Bringing up Surgeons

I am greatly honoured to be given the privilege of delivering the 3rd College of Surgeons Lecture, especially when I have retired from surgery...

Inadvertent Use of Bevacizumab to Treat Choroidal Neovascularisation During Pregnancy: A Case Report

The recognition that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NVAMD) has led to...

12th Yahya Cohen Memorial Lecture – The Cellular and Molecular Basis of Radiation-induced Sensori-neural Hearing Loss

Radiation-induced sensori-neural hearing loss (SNHL) has long been recognised as a complication of radiotherapy (RT) for head and neck tumours, if the auditory pathways...

11th Yahya Cohen Memorial Lecture – An In vivo Comparative Study of the Ability of Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Treatment of Partial Growth Arrest

It has been my greatest pleasure and honour to accept this, the 11th Yahya Cohen Memorial Lectureship on the anniversary of a half century...

Atypical Presentation of Central Retinal Artery Occlusion

Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) typically presents with a retinal “cherry red spot”. In CRAO, infarction of the retinal nerve fibre layer renders the...

Challenges and Pitfalls in the Introduction of Pharmacogenetics for Cancer

Pharmacogenetics, by definition, refers to the study of genetic differences in metabolic pathways which can affect an individual’s responses to drugs in terms of...

7th College of Physicians Lecture — The Changing Face of Medicine, Medicine – Past, Present and Future

When we think about medicine, just like we do about other things in life in the past and the present, we usually reflect on...

15th Yahya Cohen Memorial Lecture – The Relationship between the Air-bone Gap and the Size of Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence

Superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCD) can result in a characteristic constellation of vestibular and auditory features, including autophony, oscillopsia, and vertigo, and characteristic eye...

5th Chao Tze Cheng Memorial Lecture—Recent Developments in Informed Consent

The question of informed consent is a concern of recent origin and has engaged the mind of the medical profession here for only some...

7th Tan Tock Seng Oration: Surgical Excellence at TTSH—100 Years on and onward

Mr SR Nathan, our guest of honour, Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Health, Madam Kay Kuok, Chairman of NHG Board, Board members, colleagues,...

8th FY Khoo Memorial Lecture 2012 —Why Radiologists Need Philosophy

Firstly, I wish to thank the Singapore Radiological Society and the College of Radiologists, Singapore for deeply honouring me with the invitation to give...

6th College of Surgeons Lecture The Philosophy of Balance: The Art of Healing

With the rise of high tech medicine, and emphasis on the scientific aspects of medicine, there is danger that we may lose the balanced...

Bilateral Polychromatic Crystalline Keratopathy as the Initial Manifestation of IgG-Lambda Multiple Myeloma

Dear Editor, Multiple myeloma is a subgroup of plasma cell dyscrasias with neoplastic proliferation of plasma cells or their precursors. Crystalline keratopathy is a well-recognised...

2013 Runme Shaw Memorial Lecture: Clinical Applications of Stem Cells in Modern Medicine—21st Century and Beyond

The rapid advancement of biomedical research in the recent years was propelled by a series of groundbreaking technological inventions and breakthrough discoveries. In this...

22nd Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration: Is Medicine Still an Art?

Distinguished guests and colleagues in medicine, I am deeply honoured to have been invited to deliver this 22nd oration in honour of Sir Gordon...

Re: An Alternative Diagnosis: Bartonella Neuroretinitis

I would like to thank the authors for the reply to our case report. The differential diagnosis of Bartonella neuroretinitis in this patient was...

An Alternative Diagnosis: Bartonella Neuroretinitis

We refer to the letter ‘Lyme Neuroretinitis in Singapore: A Diagnostic Dilemma’ published in the April 2012 Vol. 41 No. 4 issue of the...

27-Gauge Vitrectomy for Primary Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment: Is it Feasible?

Pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) using the 27-gauge transconjunctival approach is the last frontier of small gauge vitrectomy. Only 1 paper has been published so...

A Decade of Progress in the Understanding, Prevention and Treatment of Age-related Macular Degeneration in Singapore

The year 2014 had marked the 10th anniversary of the nationwide Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Awareness Week in Singapore.1 This public health campaign, organised...

24th Seah Cheng Siang Lecture: Seeing Better, Doing Better—Evolution and Application of Gastrointestinal (GI) Endoscopy

Man’s innate curiosity to study the internal organs of the human body dates back to the time of Hippocrates where basic speculums were invented...

Incidence and trends of ophthalmic cancer in Singapore: Data from Singapore Cancer Registry

Ophthalmic cancers are commonly encountered in clinical practice and are an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Globally, the incidence of ophthalmic cancers have...

Seeing through the eyes of patients with age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a severe ocular disease characterised by progressive deterioration of the macula, the most sensitive central part of the retina....

Neuro-Behçet’s disease presenting as isolated intracranial hypertension

Behçet’s disease (BD) is a chronic multisystem inflammatory disease with a classic triad of painful oral ulcers, genital ulcers and uveitis. Neurological manifestations, though...

Teleophthalmology and its evolving role in a COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review

The World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020. To control the outbreak,...