The Department of Surgical Oncology is an important cornerstone of the clinical services at NCCS. As almost all tumours require surgical expertise to obtain tissues for diagnosis, the first line treatment for nearly all solid tumours is surgical resection.
Treating Cancer with Surgery
The Department of Surgical Oncology is an important cornerstone of the clinical services at NCCS. Almost all tumours require surgical expertise to obtain tissues for diagnosis, and the first line treatment for nearly all solid tumours is surgical resection.
This department provides treatment management plans and protocols that will streamline patient care and ensure a uniformity cancer care. Surgical diseases which require other additional therapy within the NCCS will be managed with a multi-disciplinary network to ensure best possible care for all patients at all times.
Cancer surgery in the department is differentiated into several distinct sub-specialties. These include:
|
Breast surgery |
 |
|
Colorectal surgery |
|
Gynaecological surgery |
|
Head and neck surgery |
|
Hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery |
|
Thoracic surgery |
|
Upper gastrointestinal surgery |
|
Urological surgery |
Each surgeon in the department brings a wealth of knowledge, skills, experience and concern for patients. Thus collectively, the surgical faculty enables NCCS to provide the best quality cancer care to its patients. Surgical oncologists are key members of multidisciplinary teams that subserve all tumour types. Their expertise, combined with that of other oncology specialists, ensures complete and balanced assessment and management for all patients.
Surgery
How Surgery Works
Almost all cancers are treated by surgery especially in the early stages. Surgery is the local treatment to remove the cancer. Tissue around the cancer and nearby lymph nodes may also be removed during the operation. Your surgeon will determine if you are an ideal candidate for surgery and the extent of your surgery.
Customising Surgery
Eligible patients:
|
Usually have tumours confined to a specific area, |
|
Are able to handle general anaesthesia, and |
|
Have been assessed to be suitable by a trained surgical oncologist |
Is there hope after your cancer has spread?
New procedures include:
|
Peritonectomy and intra-peritoneal chemotherapy for the management of advanced intraperitoneal disease |
|
Sentinel lymph node biopsy for breast cancer surgery, and |
|
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery for initially inoperable metastatic colorectal cancer to the liver. |
|
In addition for large cancers, the department continues to push the frontiers of surgery by offering palliative resections for better pain management |
|
