“I have had the privilege of being mentored by some of the best surgeons, both in Singapore and the world. I have seen first-hand how patients come to the brink - where critical decisions make the difference between life and death – and where technical proficiency directly impacts outcomes. Anything worth doing is hard, and indeed Hepato-pancreatobiliary surgery is a specialty like no other—defined by technical complexity and constant challenge. The diseases I manage are uncommon, and many were once regarded as uniformly fatal. Today, however, with advances in surgical techniques and systemic therapies, together with close multidisciplinary collaboration with our oncologists and radiologists, we can offer patients a realistic prospect of long-term survival, and in select cases, the possibility of cure.”
Dr Tan graduated from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, in 2012, and commenced General Surgery Residency training at the National University Hospital. He obtained Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2014 and the Master of Medicine (Surgery) in 2018. During residency, he also attained a Masters of Clinical Investigation (MCI) at the National University of Singapore and served as Chief Resident in his final year. Upon completing training, he was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (General Surgery) and accredited as a Specialist in General Surgery by the Specialist Accreditation Board in 2021.He subsequently matched and was selected as the sole candidate for the prestigious International Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, USA. This intensive, hands-on fellowship provided broad exposure to complex general surgical oncology, with particular emphasis on Hepato-pancreatobiliary malignancies and soft tissue sarcomas. There was also a great focus on minimally invasive approaches and advanced training in robotic surgery —an expertise he continues to incorporate into his clinical practice today. He was actively engaged in clinical research throughout his fellowship, a commitment that remains central to his academic work.
Dr Tan currently serves on the Hepatopancreatobiliary service at the National University Hospital and also as Head of the Hepatopancreatobiliary service at Alexandra Hospital. His clinical practice spans benign general surgical conditions, malignant Hepatopancreatobiliary and surgical oncology cases, and liver transplantation as part of the National University Centre for Organ Transplantation (NUCOT). Beyond clinical work, Dr Tan is deeply committed to research. His primary interest lies in colorectal cancer that has metastasized to the liver, with ongoing work focused on understanding disease biology and identifying potential therapeutic targets within this pathway.
Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons of England
Fellow, Academy of Medicine Singapore
Fellow, Society of Surgical Oncology
