Hong Kong professor outlines advancements in surgical techniques

Tracing the evolution of esophageal cancer surgery over the years, Simon Law, chairperson of the Department of Surgery, Cheung Kung-Hai Professor in Gastrointestinal Surgery, chair and chief, Division of Esophageal and Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, highlighted the significant advancements in techniques and outcomes, and the field’s evolution from palliation to personalised curative treatment.

Delivering the “Professor S.M. Chandramohan Oration for the year 2025” on “Esophageal Cancer Surgery — What Have I Learned?” on Friday, he reflected on his experiences in esophageal cancer surgery over the past three decades.

“In the old days, I think a lot of it was palliation. Now, we have a lot more personalised care,” he said.

Prof. Law said as far as the development of esophageal cancer surgery was concerned, it could be divided into three eras — the era of palliation and guarded optimism, era of surgical progress, and era of multimodality treatment.

He outlined the advancements in surgical techniques, including the use of Indocyanine Green fluorescence imaging in thoracic and esophageal surgery, and treatment modalities.

Multimodal therapy

He added that multimodal therapy was one of the major contributions to improved results. 

The oration was organised by the Institute of Surgical Gastroenterology (SGE) and Liver Transplantation and the Department of Medical Gastroenterology (MGE) of Government Stanley Medical College (SMC).

Rema Chandramohan, president, ESOINDIA and A. Aravind, dean, SMC, spoke on the occasion. S. Jeswanth, director, Institute of SGE; B. Sumathi, professor and head, Department of MGE; L. Anand, professor, Department of SGE; P. Senthil Kumar, associate professor, Department of SGE; and M. Kanagavel, secretary, ESOINDIA, were present.