Dr Chan Kok Yu

Orthopedic Surgery, Gleneagles Medical Centre, Penang, Malaysia

Dr Chan Kok Yu's medical practice spans a period of 12 years. He is an orthopaedic surgeon attached as a visiting consultant to the Gleneagles Medical Centre (GMC) in Penang, Malaysia. At GMC, Dr Chan sees both out- and in-patients and performs surgeries. Dr Chan also practices at the Penang General Hospital where he manages a high volume of orthopaedic and trauma cases.

How long have you been practicing medicine?

My medical practice spans a period of 12 years. I am an orthopaedic surgeon attached as a visiting consultant to the Gleneagles Medical Centre (GMC), Penang, Malaysia which is a private hospital. At GMC, I see both out-patients and in-patients and perform surgeries. My other practice is with the Penang General Hospital which is a government or public hospital where I manage a high volume of orthopaedic and trauma cases.

Tell us about your education and training?

I completed my basic medical degree at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur in 1999. My career in orthopaedics began in 2003 at the Penang General Hospital where I worked as a medical officer. From 2004-2008, I was a resident in orthopaedics undergoing specialization in that field under the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. During my final year residency, I was appointed as a chief resident in orthopaedic trauma surgery at the University of Malaya Medical Centre in recognition of my operative skills, experience and dedication by my consultants/professors. I graduated with the Master of Orthopaedic Surgery degree from the University of Malaya in 2008 and subsequently worked as a specialist orthopaedic surgeon. In 2010, I did a clinical fellowship in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore in joint replacement surgery and sports/arthroscopic surgery. Under this fellowship, I underwent specialized training in computer assisted surgery for knee replacements and arthroscopic surgery.

Tell us about your practice. What are your key areas of focus?

In my orthopaedic practice, my key area of focus is on computer assisted or navigational knee replacement surgery. This surgery is highly successful for the treatment of knee conditions like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis etc, and is normally performed for middle-aged or elderly patients. I routinely perform all my total knee replacements using computer navigational surgery which better achieves proper alignment and balancing of the knee replacement compared to conventional knee replacements. Worldwide, studies have shown that computer navigation better realigns the deformed arthritic knees significantly compared to conventional surgery and better alignment translates into more guaranteed longevity of the knee prosthesis. The prosthesis is supposed to last 15 to 20 years, but will fail much earlier due to uneven wear if the knee alignment is not properly restored after the surgery. Computer navigation consistently guarantees the alignment and balancing of the knee by enabling the surgeon to perform more precise bone cuts. This way, surgeons can be more certain that their patient’s knee replacement will last the 15 to 20 years which they expect.

In my practice, I also see a significant number of middle aged to elderly patients with hip conditions like arthritis and even hip fractures. The younger patients who consult me usually have rheumatoid arthritis of the hip and avascular necrosis of the hip, commonly brought on by steroid use or alcohol consumption. Whether young or old, I am able to help these patients with hip replacement surgery. I perform both cemented and cementless hip replacements depending on the individual patient’s hip condition.

I also manage younger, more active functionally patients who have knee arthritis, usually brought on by previous traumatic injury like knee fractures, knee ligament or meniscus injury. As knee replacement is relatively contra-indicated in such patients, I treat their condition by performing high tibial ostetomy. This is also a highly successful surgery for the deformed arthritic knee which serves to realign the deformity back to the correct mechanical alignment and offloads the patient’s weight from the diseased area of the knee, thus eliminating knee pain. As an expert in computer navigation, I employ this advanced technology to perform this surgery and it more precisely realigns the knee compared to conventional techniques. By realigning the knee precisely under navigation, surgeons can delay the progression of the patient’s knee arthritis by up to 10 years or more while enabling patients to continue their active lifestyle. This way, I can postpone their need for knee replacement surgery to an older age. I also perform arthroscopic surgery for these patients simultaneous with the high tibial osteotomy to treat their cartilage disease to promote cartilage healing.

My expertise is not merely in joint replacement surgery as I am also trained in the field of arthroscopic or key-hole surgery of both the knee and shoulder. This means that I am also an orthopaedic sports surgeon. I do a lot of arthroscopic reconstructions for sports injuries of the knee, eg. anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and multiple ligament injuries and patellar instability. I use the technique of anatomical double bundle ACL reconstruction which better stabilizes the ACL deficient knee, enabling athletes to return to high demand sports more effectively. Double bundle ACL reconstruction has been shown in studies to give better results compared to traditional single bundle surgery. The use of arthroscopic or key-hole surgery enables faster recovery for the young, high demand patients with sports injuries. I also perform arthrscopic surgery of the shoulder for various shoulder conditions like rotator cuff tears and impingement and shoulder instability.

Tell us about the types of patients you see.

My private practice in GMC consists of both cash paying patients and insurance covered patients. GMC sees mainly local patients, but also a sizeable number of foreign patients from Indonesia and also some from Western countries. In my public practice, I see the poorer patients who are unable to afford private healthcare.

Are there any new treatments or therapies that you are using?

In addition to the high technology technique of computer assisted surgery, I also employ the use of autologus platelet concentrated plasma (PCP) injections in the treatment of various ligamentous inflammations or sprains for example tendinitis. I also use PCP together with hyaluronic acid as an adjunct to arthroscopic cartilage surgery and high tibial osteotomy to enhance cartilage healing or regeneration.

Do you have a personal philosophy or approach to patient care?

In an era of advanced technology in medical treatment, doctors need to continue to remember that at the end of the day, it is the personal and warm doctor-patient relationship which reassures our patients that they are getting the best level of medical care. They may be impressed by all our skills and use of modern technology, but good communication with them is still the most important. I believe that good history taking and proper clinical examination of the patients is still essential before employing advanced investigative procedures. These traditional approaches best connects the physician to his or her patient. The phrase ‘personal touch’ is I believe still the best approach to the care of my patients. Besides good communication, easy accessibility to the doctor is also important. In my own practice, whether government or private patients, I allow my patients to contact me directly, whether by email or even mobile phone. I think that such accessibility is also part of the ‘personal touch’ mentioned here. This helps instil confidence in my patients and allay their fears.

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