Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery Specialist
About Your Surgeon
Doctor’s Profile
Dr Su Jang Wen graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Melbourne, Australia in 1998. Subsequently, he obtained his Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh) and his Master of Medicine from the National University of Singapore in 2002 and 2003 respectively. In 2006, Dr Su became a Fellow of Royal College of Surgeons (Cardiothoracic Surgery, Edinburgh) and was the first ever Singapore candidate to be awarded the gold medal for the Fellowship examination. In the same year, Dr Su became a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine (Singapore) – Gold Medallist.
From 2007-2009, Dr Su completed intensive training for both Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery. He was the first foreign fellow to be assigned the highly sought-after Chief Fellow of the Thoracic Surgery & Lung Transplantation Programme at the Cleveland Clinic which has been ranked as top Cardiothoracic Centre in the United States of America since 1995. He received comprehensive training under world-renowned Thoracic & Oesophageal Surgeons as well as a panel of internationally prominent Cardiac Surgeons. During his training at Cleveland, he was the first Asian to receive a prestigious award for the best research paper.
Dr Su is one of the very few cardiothoracic surgeons who is accredited to perform both heart and lung surgery. Upon returning to Singapore in 2009, Dr Su served as a Consultant in The Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, National Heart Centre Singapore, making him one of the youngest ever cardiothoracic surgeons in the world. Since 2007, Dr Su has accumulated extensive experience having carried out more than 5,000 heart, lung and oesophageal surgeries. He has since remained one of the busiest Cardio-Thoracic surgeons in the region, performing more than 350 surgery per year. During his practice, he held the record of having no mortalities in all his elective thoracic surgery as well as most cardiac surgery (coronary artery bypass graft, cardiac valves and acute aortic dissection).
Apart from performing a full range of surgery for cardiac and thoracic conditions, Dr Su’s main interest is in Minimally Invasive Surgery. For thoracic surgery, he routinely performs video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in lung cancer, mediastinal tumours and many other thoracic conditions. In 2010, he was the first in South East Asia to have successfully resected lung cancer using Da Vinci Robot. In order to maintain the highest standard of care for his patients, he has nowadays routinely applied uniportal (single hole) VATS techniques for most of his thoracic surgery.
Dr Su has also successfully applied minimally invasive surgery in coronary artery bypass surgery, valvular surgery (aortic, mitral and tricuspid), atrial septal defect closure, arrhythmia surgery, ventricular aneurysm repair and acute ventricular septal rupture. The latter 2 surgery were first of its kind in the world. Dr Su was also the first surgeon to have performed minimally coronary artery bypass graft in Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore in 2013.
Dr Su has great interest in dealing with critically ill cardiac and thoracic surgical patients. He works only with the premium team of doctors to ensure the best outcome for his patients. He firmly believes that all patients deserve a second chance to live. Hence, he is extremely active in extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) services, busily performing 25-30 ECMO per year across multiple private hospitals.
He applies this life salvaging technology in patients with life endangering conditions such as cardiogenic shock, respiratory failure and some severe infections/septic shock. Through his experience, he has created many medical miracles and returned many dying patients to life and to their families. He also believes that by saving a patient, he not only saves one life but the whole family’s life…
Dr Su has given numerous presentations at international meetings, some of which have won Best Paper Awards. He has given many lectures on Minimally Invasive Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery in various countries. In addition, he published in multiple peer reviewed international medical journals on his cardiac and thoracic works. Dr Su also co-authored the textbook chapter “Minimally Invasive Approaches to Lung Cancer” in Greene’s Minimally Invasive Cancer Management.
Dr Su is a member of the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery, International Society of Heart Lung Transplantation, Singapore Oncology Society, Singapore Cardiac Society, Singapore Thoracic Society, Singapore Heart Lung transplantation Society, Chapter of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Academy of Medicine, Singapore.
Dr SU Jang Wen
Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Gleneagles Hospital