Chapter of Urologists

Urology was practiced by general surgeons in Singapore until the mid 1970s when the seeds were sown for urology to become a specialty in its own right. The late Dr N E Wong was one of several pioneering surgeons who decided to specialize in urology. Urology is very much a technology-driven specialty and owes its early development to the advent of new equipment and treatment techniques that brought about significant benefits to patients with urological conditions, in a minimally invasive manner.

It was inevitable that, in order for the specialty to flourish a separate and district Department of Urology was needed. This came about in 1987 with the establishment of a Urology Unit at the then University Department of Surgery at the Singapore General Hospital which evolved into the Department of Urology, Singapore General Hospital in October 1988. In the years following that, the establishment of separate urology units in each major general hospital in Singapore (National University Hospital, Changi General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Alexandra Hospital) counted as one of the chief milestones of the development of urology in Singapore. Gradually, more urologists ventured into private practice but in general, urologists here pride themselves on being a fairly closely-knit grouping, with harmony amongst the 5 public hospital urology units and those in the major private hospitals. Much of the history of urology in Singapore revolves around the Singapore Urological Association (SUA), which was founded on 19 February 1986 by 12 members and 6 associate members from the then government hospitals, university and private hospitals.

The founding president was Prof Foo Keong Tatt. Traditional methods of treating common conditions like urinary stones were giving way to revolutionary, less invasive, urological surgeries and the objective of the SUA was to bring together like-minded surgical specialists to promote urology as a specialty in Singapore. Promoting awareness of urology among the public and family physicians was achieved through educational forums, publications, outreach activities and continuing medical education through journal clubs and scientific meetings.

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