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Behind every saved life is a team but two young specialists in radiology and vascular surgery are warning of staffing shortages despite advanced technologies. Their plea came ahead of Chinese Doctor's Day on Wednesday, when the Hospital Authority honored the hard work of frontline doctors.
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A career inspired by SARS heroes
Among them is radiologist Carol Ng Wing-kei, 41, an associate consultant at the Hong Kong Children's Hospital.
Ng chose medicine after being moved by the sacrifice of SARS heroes like Kate Cheng Ha-yan and Joanna Tse Yuen-man. Now 18 years with the HA, she specializes in diagnostic imaging for children with complex congenital heart defects.
“The work is painstaking but also comes with great fulfillment,” she said, adding that three to four hours can pass just reviewing records to uncover the stories of complex hearts. To deepen her expertise, she went to London four years ago and brought back cutting-edge tools, including 4D-flow MRI, VR-based heart visualization, and 3D-printed 1:1 scale human heart models.
Instead of relying on 2D images, Ng said doctors can now plan surgeries with physical models and even simulate surgeries beforehand.
However, she highlighted the city's tight radiology staffing.
At the Children's Hospital, Ng and one junior colleague handle all congenital cardiac imaging, roughly 100 to 150 CTs and 200 to 250 MRIs annually. Apart from collaborating with international peers, she is also passing on her expertise to local young doctors, hoping to nurture more talent in the field.
Also on the frontline is 37-year-old Samuel Lo Tsoon-wuan, an associate consultant (surgery) at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital and one of Hong Kong’s first vascular surgeons to pass specialist fellowship training.
He said the urgency of vascular surgery appealed to him, especially for conditions like aortic aneurysms that demand timely operations to save lives.
Lo recalled a case with a 99-year-old diabetic patient with a toe ulcer that couldn't bear to walk for weeks.
“We were not sure of the effectiveness, but I was deeply moved seeing the patient stand pain-free the day after a minimally invasive surgery,” Lo said.
However, he warned of a shortage of manpower, which is only about 40 vascular surgeons citywide.
Beyond Eastern Hospital, Law covers emergency calls for Ruttonjee Hospital and Queen Mary Hospital, once performing five surgeries across all three during a single 24-to-36-hour on-call shift.
Although vascular surgery is a new field, Lo stressed that Hong Kong has strong expertise with multidisciplinary teams and he is actively promoting the specialty and training junior doctors.
