Medical Director
Senior Consultant, General & Colorectal Surgeon
MBBS (Singapore), MRCS (Edinburgh), MMed (Surgery), FRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgeries for advanced rectal and pelvic tumours are highly complex and challenging. These cancers often involve surrounding organs such as the bladder, prostate, uterus or ovaries. Vital structures of nerves, blood vessels and the tail bone such as the sacrum may also be involved.
Dr Chew Min Hoe performed his fellowship at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney under the tutelage of Professor Michael Solomon.
He has had extensive experience from his tenure at Singhealth performing and supervising more than 70 to 80 such operations. He is also part of an international consortium, PelvEx, which has published many advances in techniques and best care practices.
These surgeries are known as Pelvic Exenterations and are only suitable in patients who are medically fit; and whereby the surgery team has evaluated and determined that a safe and curative operation is possible for this tumour.
Pelvic Exenteration surgery in metastatic disease may be considered if the patient has difficult symptoms that are causing considerable pain and discomfort; and/or if they cannot receive any further chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Navigating advanced or recurrent rectal cancer requires specialised expertise.
Schedule your consultation with Dr Chew to discuss personalised treatment plans.
Pelvic tumours can involve many vital structures which often lead to persistent and unrelenting pain, intestine blockage, bleeding, foul-smelling discharges due to cancer fistulation or malignant ulcers, or recurrent pelvic infections that require frequent hospitalization and limit further treatment.
Studies have shown that while chemotherapy or radiotherapy have been traditionally offered, these offer only short-term relief of symptoms, and often relapse. Patients also have poor cancer survival.
Preoperatively
Goal of Treatment
Recovery
Stoma
Wounds/Flap Reconstruction
Dr Chew Min Hoe
Medical Director
Senior Consultant, General & Colorectal Surgeon
MBBS (Singapore), MRCS (Edinburgh), MMed (Surgery), FRCS (Edinburgh)
Dr Chew Min Hoe is an experienced colorectal surgeon with special interest in colorectal cancer and advanced pelvic tumours. He is recognised for his compassionate patient care and dedication to improving outcomes, for which he was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Bronze).
He has held the position of President of the Society of Colorectal Surgeons, Singapore, and established the Department of Surgery at Sengkang General Hospital (SKH). Beyond patient care, Dr Chew has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has been invited to speak at numerous international conferences.
Chew MH; Brown Wendy E; Masya Lindy; Harrison James D; Myers Eddie; Solomon Michael J
Clinical, MRI, and PET-CT criteria used by surgeons to determine suitability for pelvic exenteration surgery for recurrent rectal cancers: a Delphi study.
Diseases of the colon and rectum 2013; 56(6):717-725
Chew MH, Yeh YT, Toh EL, S A Sumari, Chew GK, Lee LS, Tan MH, T P Hennedige, Ng SY, Lee SK, Chong TT, H R Abdullah, T HG Lin, M Z Rasheed, Tan KC, Tang CL
- Critical evaluation of contemporary management in a new pelvic exenteration unit: The first 25 consecutive cases.
- World J Gastrointest Oncol 2017 May 15; 9(5): 218-227
Aslim EJ, Chew MH, Chew GK, Lee LS
Urological outcomes following pelvic exenteration for advanced pelvic cancer are not inferior to those following radical cystectomy
ANZ J Surg. 2018 Sep; 88(9):896-900. Doi: 10.1111/ans.14689. Epub 2018 Jun 12
PMID: 29895098
Changing outcomes following pelvic exenteration for locally advanced and recurrent rectal cancer
PelvEx Collaborative, BJS Open. 2019
Pelvic Exenteration for Advanced Nonrectal Pelvic Malignancy
PelvEx Collaborative, Ann Surg. 2019
Palliative pelvic exenteration: A systematic review of patient-centered outcomes
PelvEx Collaborative, Eur J Surg Oncol. 2019
Management strategies for patients with advanced rectal cancer and liver metastases using modified Deplhi methodology: results from PelvEx collaborative
PelvEx Collaborative. Colorectal Dis 2020 Feb11.
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Tel:+65 6518 4688
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Sat / PH Eve:8:30am - 12:00 noon
Sun & Public Holiday: Closed
