Anaesthesiology

Scope of services

Specialist anaesthesia services are provided by a team of full-time doctors from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) resident at our hospital together with the Professorial staff of the HKU Department of Anaesthesiology. This team works together to provide seamless and high-quality perioperative care as follows:

  • Provides preoperative assessment for patients to determine the most suitable technique for anaesthesia and postoperative pain management. Identification and optimisation of patient co-morbidities (e.g. hypertension, cardiac disease, diabetes) to ensure patients are in the optimal medical condition to cope with the stress of surgery
  • General anaesthesia - patients are unconscious, together with analgesia, amnesia and immobility as the whole body is anaesthetised. Our team of specialists is adept at all types of anaesthesia, including total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) which has significant advantages over the use of inhaled anaesthetic drugs
      
  • Regional anaesthesia - spinal or epidural anaesthesia is another option for lower abdominal (e.g. Caesarean Section) and lower limb surgery. Epidural anaesthesia can also be given as mode of postoperative pain relief for chest and abdominal surgeries. Patients can also be sedated during their surgery with supplementary intravenous sedatives, if they wish
      
  • Monitored anaesthesia care (MAC) - patients are given anaesthetic and analgesic drugs to make them relaxed and pain free during certain types of less invasive surgery and procedures (e.g. radiology investigations (e.g. MRI), endoscopy, colonoscopy, bronchoscopy, shockwave lithotripsy, cardiac investigations/treatment and other minor surgeries). Patient’s vital signs are also carefully monitored and kept normal during the procedure by an anaesthesiologist
      
  • Nerve block - using local anaesthesia drugs under ultrasound guided control to block a particular nerve or nerve bundles supplying the surgical site (e.g. the arm). Sedation can also be administered along with this
  • Patient controlled analgesia - through a pain medicine delivery system, a predetermined dose of pain medication can be administered when the patient presses a button on a handset. The pump is programmed for safety and to prevent overdose. The advantage is that the patient does not need to call the nurse for pain medication and can keep themselves comfortable
    • Patient Controlled Intravenous Analgesia
    • Patient Controlled Epidural Analgesia
        
  • Epidural analgesia - continuous infusion of a local anaesthetic solution into the epidural space to numb the nerves from the surgical site and, therefore, relieve pain
      
  • Drugs administered by oral, intravenous, intramuscular per-rectum or under the tongue
  • Provides expertise and relief for persistent pain conditions that are typically very difficult to manage. This can be done with drugs, nerve blocks or spinal cord stimulation
  • Pain relief and anaesthesia for women during childbirth
      
  • As a supplement to general anaesthesia in specific surgical cases, e.g. chest or abdominal surgery. The epidural catheter is placed in the back relatively painlessly before induction of general anaesthesia. A low dose infusion of local anaesthesia provides excellent postoperative analgesia for several days
  • Obstetrics delivery service

Other services:

  • Resuscitation, sedation, epidural service and postoperative pain management
  • The options for perioperative care and the risk of surgery will be explained to patients during their preoperative consultation to ensure their individual needs are met and questions answered
  • Follow-up of patients is done after surgery to manage their pain and ensure return to normal function
  • Teaching medical students, doctors, nursing staff and operating theatre assistants

Supplementary services:

Assist in patient care for other specialties, such as:

  • Insertion of intravenous or intra-arterial lines
  • Ultrasound guided central line insertion
  • Ward or ICU resuscitation; airway management and tracheal intubation
  • Management of fluid therapy
  • Management of oxygen therapy and pulmonary ventilation
  • Pain management
  • Consultation as to fitness for prospective surgery

Our Specialists

doctors

Dr CHAN Yau Wai
陳友偉 醫生

Anaesthesiology

Title(s)
  • Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
doctors

Dr IP Kam Yuen
葉鑫源 醫生

Anaesthesiology

Title(s)
  • Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
Dr Lau Lai Ning Lydia 20240125

Dr LAU Lai Ning Lydia
劉麗寧 醫生

Anaesthesiology

Title(s)
  • Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
Dr WONG Sau Ching Stanley 黃守正 醫生

Dr WONG Sau Ching Stanley
黃守正 醫生

Anaesthesiology

Title(s)
  • Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
Gordon Wong Edited

Dr WONG Tin Chun Gordon
黃田鎮 醫生

Anaesthesiology

Title(s)
  • Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong

5 specialists