HKSH Obstetrics & Gynaecology Centre: A 15-year Journey of Comprehensive Women and Infant Care

Dr. CHAN Woon Tong, Joseph

Head, Department of Women's Health and Obstetrics

Honorary Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology

The journey of HKSH Obstetrics & Gynaecology Centre (O&G Centre) is distinguished by its continuous pursuit of service excellence over the past 15 years. Supported by a team of experienced Specialists in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, nurses and other personnel, the Centre has been providing comprehensive and high-quality specialty services since its inception in 2006. 

Obstetric Services since 1930s: Maternity Ward and Charity Maternity Ward

Well before the opening of O&G Centre in 2006, the history of HKSH obstetric services began at the maternity ward and charity maternity ward in 1932. In light of the post-war baby boom and rising service demand, a new semi-charity Maternity Department and Ante-natal Clinic were later set up with a delivery room in 1951. It was followed by a Post-natal Clinic in 1953 and the Department of Hospital-Care Infants in 1956, which set out to provide comprehensive care to both mothers and infants.

Dr. TSAO Yin Kai, the late Deputy Medical Superintendent of the Hospital and a Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, founded the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1956. He not only performed gynaecological surgeries but also delivered babies: over half of the babies at HKSH were delivered by Dr. TSAO back then. With his great support, midwifery training was also provided at our School of Nursing in its early years. The foundation he laid down is essential to both the later development of the O&G Centre and also the specialty as as a whole in HKSH.

The O&G Centre started with me as the only O&G Specialist in 2006, and three more specialists joined us in mid-2007. Now with 13 O&G Specialists with wide-ranging expertise, we provide consultations and services in four major subspecialties, namely maternal-fetal medicine, gynaecological cancer, assisted reproductive health and urogynaecology. Core services cover pelvis ultrasound, pap smear, colposcopy, minimally invasive gynaecological surgery, maternal-fetal medicine and prenatal diagnosis, fetal morphology scan, chorionic villous sampling, amniocentesis, reproductive health and gynaecological cancer services. Complex cases are managed by doctors in a team approach from time to time.

Four Major Service Areas of HKSH Obstetrics & Gynaecology Centre

• Maternal-fetal Medicine
• Gynaecological Cancer
• Urogynaecology
• Assisted Reproductive Health

Strengthen Infant Care with Neonatology Team

To ensure better support to mothers and their infants, the Hospital set out to strengthen its neonatology service by recruiting two Specialists in Paediatrics in February 2019.  Both doctors are 24 hour on call, and supported by other team members, always ready to handle difficult or sudden deliveries as well as preterm birth cases.   

Located at the Hospital, the O&G Centre can provide immediate support to mothers and their babies during emergency. It also allows us to provide prenatal services in close collaboration with the Department of Obstetrics before childbirth, e.g. here in the Hospital our midwives and lactation consultants can provide guidance to future mothers, so that they can breastfeed with ease after childbirth.

Enhance Treatment Outcome with Hyper thermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC)

Thanks to the support from two Specialists in Gynaecological Cancer, great strides have also been made in related cancer management and treatment in recent years.  

Working hand in hand with other specialties such as oncology and surgery, in 2019 we introduced Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) with the Surgery Centre in 2019. This treatment method can destroy any remaining cancer cells in the abdomen by direct delivery of a heated, sterilised chemotherapy solution. It is found to be effective in ovarian cancer and peritoneal cancer, and clinical research shows that HIPEC can relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life of patients.

With more and more specialists joining the HKSH Medical Group, we are able to promote further multidisciplinary collaborations in the management of complex gynaecological cases.  It not only enhances our surgical capability but also widens our service scope.

Advanced Technology in Assisted Reproductive Health and Clinical Genetics

In joint efforts with the HKSH IVF Centre, we have introduced a wide range of advanced technologies and services in recent years. And with great support from the Molecular Pathology Laboratory of Department of Pathology, the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology is now widely adopted in pre-implantation screening or diagnosis to achieve DNA-based screening and diagnosis of inherited gene mutations or chromosomal abnormalities. In fact, our IVF Centre is the local pioneer of NGS in Pre-implantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidies – Abnormal Number of Chromosomes (PGT-A), and Pre-implantation Genetic Testing for Monogenic Diseases / Chromosomal Structural Rearrangements (PGT-M/SR).

HKSH is also the first hospital to introduce clinical genetics service in the local private sector. Supported by a genetic laboratory, our clinical geneticist can provide genetic assessment, diagnosis and counselling to patients and their family members and recommend appropriate examinations.

Look Forward to Expanding Gynaecological Cancer Service in the Community

As a medical landmark in Hong Kong East, the HKSH Eastern Medical Centre was opened in A Kung Ngam (AKN), Shau Kei Wan in 2019. Inside the HKSH Eastern Medical Centre is the HKSH Cancer Centre (Island East), an all-new cancer service hub that provides high-quality, one-stop cancer diagnosis and treatment. To further wide our service scope, we look forward with great enthusiasm to expanding our related services upon the completion of the Tsao Yin Kai Block in the same campus.