Dr Chao Siew Shuen

Dr Chao is a Senior Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeon. She is also an internationally recognized specialist in the treatment of Sinus conditions and Nasal Allergy. She is currently practising at Gleneagles Medical Centre, and continues as a Visiting Consultant to the ENT Department at the National University Hospital.

After graduating from the Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore in 1993, Dr Chao subsequently underwent specialist training in ENT and was accredited as a Specialist in Otorhinolaryngology (ENT) by the Ministry of Health and the Singapore Medical Council in 2002. She was awarded a Healthcare Manpower Development Program Overseas Training Fellowship, and underwent further subspecialty training in Sinus Surgery and Allergy at the University of Iowa, USA from 2003 to 2004. During her overseas fellowship, she worked with eminent specialists and pioneers in the field of advanced open and endoscopic sinus surgery, and was involved in the management of patients with complex sinus and orbital problems referred from other centres in the USA. She was also part of the Allergy Division performing allergy testing and managing patients with nasal allergy.

CONTACT US

ENT and Sinus Centre
#04-03 Gleneagles Medical Centre
6A Napier Road
Singapore 258499

Email: enquiry@entsinuscentre.com
Phone: 64722788
Fax: 64722780

Academic Profile

Dr Chao was an Associate Professor to the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore for teaching and research.

She has a keen interest in education and had won the NUH Postgraduate Teaching Excellence Award in 2003. She was also the Director of Undergraduate Teaching from 2007 to 2009. In addition to teaching local undergraduates as well as postgraduate subspecialty trainees and residents in Otolaryngology, she has been invited to share her knowledge and skills in endoscopic sinus surgery with many ENT doctors in regional countries, including those from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar. She has also organized many regional and international teaching courses and workshops.

Dr Chao’s research has focused primarily on allergic rhinitis and nasal polyps. She has published consistently in international peer–reviewed journals on these conditions, and was also the Principal Investigator of several studies with large grants from the National Medical Research Council and the National University of Singapore. Her work has been presented at numerous international scientific meetings, and has won several prizes, including the Best Abstract Award at the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in 2011.

Professional Profile

Upon her return in 2004, Dr Chao served in the ENT Department at the National University Hospital, as a Consultant and then as Senior Consultant ENT Surgeon. Her commitment to clinical and service excellence was recognized with the National Healthcare Group Gold Award for Excellent Service in 2008. She was also appointed Director of Clinical Services from 2005, overseeing the smooth running of the various clinical services in the ENT Department.

In her role as a leading ENT and Sinus surgeon in Singapore, she has spearheaded several important clinical programs in NUH. She started the Rhinology and Allergy program in 2004, providing integrated medical and surgical diagnosis and treatment for patients with nose and sinus conditions, including nasal allergy. At the same time, she also worked with the Department of Ophthalmology to start the Combined ENT-Oculoplastic Program, providing comprehensive multi-disciplinary evaluation and endoscopic surgical treatment for patients with lacrimal (tear-duct) and intra-orbital conditions, including tumours, thyroid eye disease, and traumatic orbital and optic nerve injuries. In 2009, she started the Endoscopic Skull-Base Program with the Neurosurgical Department to provide a less invasive surgical approach to manage selected conditions such as pituitary and skull-base tumours.

Clinical Practice Profile

In addition to general ENT and head and neck surgery, Dr Chao has a special interest in nasal (nose) and sinus conditions such as allergy, infections, bleeding, polyps and tumours. She treats both children and adults with these conditions. Working closely with her dedicated team of nurses trained in allergy management, many of her patients with nasal allergies and infections responded well to a combined regime of medical treatment and allergen avoidance. For patients who require surgery, she performs clinic-based and also open and endoscopic surgery to treat nose and sinus conditions, including infections, polyps, nasal obstruction or snoring as well as highly complicated procedures for skull base and orbital conditions. Building on her many years of experience with endoscopic surgery, she continues to push the boundaries and has successfully extended the use of the endoscope to perform surgery for the ear. Endoscopic ear surgery is the new frontier, which provides patients with an alternative less invasive approach to selected ear diseases.