The Department of Colorectal Surgery manages the whole spectrum of colorectal diseases. Special interests include Colorectal Surgical Oncology, Colonoscopy, Pelvic Floor and Functional Disorders, Endorectal Ultrasound, Anorectal Reconstructions, Familial Cancer, Stoma Care and Laparoscopic Surgery. It does only Colorectal on-call with no general surgical responsibilities as it is a totally independent department.

The department is equipped with a fully functioning Anorectal Physiology Laboratory with state-of-art equipment including biofeedback. They also have a departmental Transrectal Ultrasound Laboratory and their own Colorectal Family Cancer Registry, as well as 4 full-time Scientists. Fully funded trainees in the past have included final year or senior trainees from the United Kingdom, USA, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia. Partially or self-funded trainees have come from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, USA, Germany, Italy, China and many Asian countries.

The department has a heavy workload. In 1999, it recorded a performance of some 5213 colonoscopes and 3300 operations. Of the latter, about 700 were colorectal cancer resections. The department is recognized as one of the most influential training centers in the world for the treatment of colorectal diseases.

The Colorectal Centre Research Laboratory conducts research for basic mechanisms of colorectal tumorigenesis, developing methods of screening asymptomatic patients and using molecular biology based techniques to improve diagnosis and prognostication of colorectal cancer patients. It also participates in many international collaborative projects. In addition to routine clinical service, the department also maintains a Polyposis Registry, Anorectal Research Laboratory, Transanal Ultrasonography, Colorectal Clinical Information System and Stoma Clinic.

TEACHING AND TRAINING

The department is actively involved in advanced specialty training in colorectal surgery and is also involved in teaching medical students and nurses. The department is recognized for advanced specialty training by the Specialist Accreditation Board.

ADVANCED SPECIALTY TRAINING PROGRAM

The objective of sub-specialty training is to enable the advanced trainee to acquire a thorough familiarity with the wide range of colorectal problems, to learn to accurately diagnose and investigate such cases and to manage them operatively and peri-operatively.

The trainee is expected to demonstrate competence in performing colorectal surgical procedures and colonoscopy. In addition to developing further clinical expertise, the advanced trainee is taught anorectal physiology, specialized diagnostic modalities (including endorectal ultrasound and transluminal ultrasonography) and is also exposed to molecular biology. It is expected that the trainee will develop a special interest in one of these fields.

WELFARE & FACILITIES FOR JUNIOR DOCTORS
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