Dream team to achieve the best endoscopy services
PWH Endoscopy TeamPrince of Wales Hospital
In the 1990s, colorectal cancer was not the most common cancer in Hong Kong, but the number of cases increased dramatically in the following years. In 2016, the government launched the Colorectal Cancer Screening Pilot Programme, which subsidises asymptomatic Hong Kong residents aged between 50 and 75 to receive screening service in the private sector every two years.
Given the increase in the number of confirmed cases, the endoscopy team at Prince of Wales Hospital envisaged the need of colorectal cancer screening and thus recommended it to the government as early as 1999. In order to collect more local data, the team took the initiative to conduct voluntary screening for more than 10,000 people from 2008 to 2012, and found that 30% of healthy and asymptomatic citizens had colorectal polyps, some of which were at high risk of developing cancer. Eventually, the data prompted the government to launch the Colorectal Cancer Screening Pilot Programme in 2016, with a view to raising public awareness about prevention and early treatment of colorectal cancer.
In addition, the team is also looking for better treatment through endoscopy. Professor Philip Chiu, team leader and Director of the Endoscopy Centre, performed the first endoscopic submucosal dissection in Hong Kong in 2004 with reference to overseas experience. He describes that the removal of polyps is like ‘slicing the Peking Duck’, with the advantage of less invasiveness. Since then Professor Chiu and his team have then shared their experience with other hospitals, and now this operation is being adopted in all seven clusters.
“We are the first endoscopy team in Hong Kong to pioneer interdisciplinary endoscopy services, providing a more comprehensive medical analysis. With the increasing complexity of treatment techniques, anesthetists and patient care assistants have joined the team as well. We are also the first in Hong Kong to introduce on-call endoscopy nursing support for emergency cases, providing essential support in controlling the instrument and bleeding, as well as placing stents.” Professor Chiu describes the team as a symphony orchestra, each performing their own duties while working together in perfect harmony.
Team List