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Doctor Details

2024/01/25
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Doctor Detail

Asst Prof Rajeev Parameswaran

Photo of Asst Prof Rajeev Parameswaran

Designations:

  • Senior Consultant, Division of General Surgery (Endocrine & Thyroid Surgery), Department of Surgery, National University Hospital
  • Senior Consultant, Division of General Surgery (Endocrine & Thyroid Surgery), Department of Surgery, Alexandra Hospital
  • Senior Consultant, Division of Surgical Oncology, National University Cancer Institute, Singapore
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore

Qualifications:

BSc (India), MBBS (India), FRCS (Ireland), M Phil (UK), FRCS (UK)

Specialties/Sub-specialties:

General Surgery

Clinical Disciplines/Programmes:

Endocrine & Thyroid Surgery, Surgery, Surgical Oncology, Surgical Oncology (Thyroid & Endocrine Surgery)

Special Interests:

Thyroid & Parathyroid Surgery, Adrenal Surgery – Open and Minimally Invasive, Inherited Conditions of the Endocrine Glands (MEN-1, MEN2, SDH & others), Parathyroid and Adrenal Cancer, Paediatric Endocrine Surgery

Biosketch

"In 1995, as a medical officer, I attended to a patient who had been admitted for sepsis due to a chest infection. He collapsed – much to the distress of his accompanying son, who screamed for help. I promptly resuscitated the patient with oxygen, IV fluids and antibiotics and the patient responded rapidly to the simple treatment. The following day on ward rounds, the patient's family came running to me; they hugged and thanked me for saving their father. It brought tears to my eyes and it was the moment that I realised that my choice to become a doctor was the right one." 

Experiences like this one have continually spurred Dr Rajeev on in his three-decades long career. Whether it is successfully taking someone through a high-risk surgery or offering reassurance to family members that their loved one is on the mend, each interaction is clearly dear to him – illustrated in his treasured collection of letters, notes and other memorabilia from patients. "I always try to do my best for patients – not to compromise their safety and achieve the best outcomes for them," he says. 

Following his graduation from medical school in India, Dr Rajeev trained in surgery and pursued higher training in the United Kingdom. He completed his specialist endocrine surgical training and Fellowship in endocrine surgery from Oxford, and then worked as a Consultant in Endocrine & General Surgery in UK. 

Passion and expertise in complex endocrine surgery

Today as a Senior Consultant at the Division of General Surgery (Endocrine & Thyroid Surgery) at the National University Hospital, Dr Rajeev specialises in endocrine and thyroid surgical disorders. 

He is one of the few accredited Consultants on the British Association of Endocrine and Thyroid Surgeons to perform endocrine surgery and is versed in taking care of patients with problems linked to the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and neuroendocrine conditions, such as multiple endocrine neoplasias, familial paraganglioma syndromes.  

For his research work on aberrant glycoproteins in thyroid tumours, Dr Rajeev was awarded an M Phil from Oxford and he has delivered lectures on this and other topics on endocrine cancers internationally. 

With the unique experience of having provided surgical care of pediatric surgical patients in the UK, Dr Rajeev also provides care for the pediatric endocrine surgical conditions working in collaboration with endocrinology and pediatric medicine. 

Passing on surgical knowledge

Having benefited from the guidance and mentorship of many, Dr Rajeev pays it forward, taking on various roles in medical education. A passionate teacher, he teaches undergraduates and postgraduates, examines for the MBBS, BDS, MRCS and FRCS exams and proctors students on research projects. 

Dr Rajeev also set up the Postgraduate Course in Endocrine Surgery in 2015 and has been running it successfully once every two years. 

He also organised the International Postgraduate Course in Endocrine Surgery under the auspices of International Association of Endocrine Surgeons in 2021.

Contributing to the research field

Medical education aside, he contributes to the field through extensive research, and has published nearly 100 publications to date in peer reviewed journals and contributed to textbooks. 

Currently a member of N2CR research group, he has also collaborated with other researchers in the field of thyroidology. Dr Rajeev has edited three endocrine surgical textbooks and reviewed articles for BJS, WJS, Gland Surgery, WJSO, Annals of Royal College of Surgeons in England and BMJ The Heart. 

Giving back to the community

Dr Rajeev's compassion extends beyond the hospital. He is a long-standing donor to the Princess Foundation in India which funds underprivileged girls in their educational needs and he also provides free medical consultations over Zoom for the Kottayam Medical College Alumni of which he is a member. Currently he is awaiting confirmation by the outreach program of IAES to provide surgical training and expertise to surgeons in Africa.

Awards

  • 2018 - Endocrine Metabolic Society Grant of Singapore

Journals & Publications

  1. Figge JJ, Gooding WE, Steward DL, Yip L, Sippel RS, Yang SP, Scheri RP, Sipos JA, Mandel SJ, Mayson SE, Burman KD, Folek JM, Haugen BR, Sosa JA, Parameswaran R, Tan WB, Nikiforov YE, Carty SE 2021 Do Ultrasound Patterns and Clinical Parameters Inform the Probability of Thyroid Cancer Predicted by Molecular Testing in Nodules with Indeterminate Cytology? Thyroid.
  2. Sek KS, Tsang I, Lee XY, Albaqmi OH, Morosan Allo YJ, Rosmarin MC, Mahrous AK, Parameswaran R, Ng DCE, Tong AKT, Loke KSH, Brenta G, Alghamdi AH, Albati NA, Fish SA, Tuttle RM, Yang SP 2021 Frequent neck US in papillary thyroid cancer likely detects non-actionable findings. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 94:504-512.
  3. Tiong YS, Hao ETY, Lee CC, Parameswaran R, Cheo T, Ho WLC, Yang SP 2021 Prevalence of thyroid malignancy and hormonal dysfunction following radiation exposure in childhood. Ann Acad Med Singap 50:402-410.
  4. Yang SP, Koh LCW, Kong KW, Parameswaran R, Loke KSH, Ngiam KY, Tan WB, Loh T, Ng DCE, Goh BC, Ngeow J, Tai ES 2021 A Multiplex Thyroid-Specific Assay for Quantification of Circulating Thyroid Cell-Free RNA in Plasma of Thyroid Cancer Patients. Front Genet 12:721832.
  5. Chandran M, Chan Maung A, Mithal A, Parameswaran R 2020 Vitamin D in COVID - 19: Dousing the fire or averting the storm? - A perspective from the Asia-Pacific. Osteoporos Sarcopenia 6:97-105.
  6. Ting KR, Ong PY, Wei SOG, Parameswaran R, Khoo CM, Deepak DS, Lee SC 2020 Characteristics and genetic testing outcomes of patients with clinically suspected paraganglioma/pheochromocytoma (PGL/PCC) syndrome in Singapore. Hered Cancer Clin Pract 18:24.
  7. Chen R, Oh HB, Parameswaran R, Gorelik A, Miller JA 2019 Practice Patterns in Parathyroid Surgery: A Survey of Asia-Pacific Parathyroid Surgeons. World J Surg 43:1964-1971.
  8. Goh X, Lum J, Yang SP, Chionh SB, Koay E, Chiu L, Parameswaran R, Ngiam KY, Loh TKS, Nga ME, Lim CM 2019 BRAF mutation in papillary thyroid cancer-Prevalence and clinical correlation in a South-East Asian cohort. Clin Otolaryngol 44:114-123.
  9. Kanojia D, Dakle P, Mayakonda A, Parameswaran R, Puhaindran ME, Min VLK, Madan V, Koeffler P 2019 Identification of somatic alterations in lipoma using whole exome sequencing. Sci Rep 9:14370.
  10. Ng P, Ho C, Tan WB, Ngiam KY, Lim CM, Thomas Loh KS, Nga ME, Parameswaran R 2019 Predictors of thyroxine replacement following hemithyroidectomy in a south east Asian cohort. Head Neck 41:1463-1467.

Professional Memberships

  • Elected Council Member, Asian Association of Endocrine Surgeons
  • Member, International Association of Endocrine Surgeons
  • Member, British Association of Endocrine Surgeons
  • Member, Royal Society of Medicine
  • Member, Singapore Society of Surgical Oncology
  • Member, Endocrine and Metabolic Society of Singapore

2024/06/06
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National University Health System
  • National University Hospital
  • Ng Teng Fong General Hospital
  • Alexandra Hospital
  • Jurong Community Hospital
  • National University Polyclinics
  • Jurong Medical Centre
  • National University Cancer Institute, Singapore
  • National University Heart Centre, Singapore
  • National University Centre for Oral Health, Singapore
  • NUHS Diagnostics
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  • Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
  • Faculty of Dentistry
  • Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health
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