SOG HEALTH PTE. - Key Persons


Dr. Tan Chuan Chien

Job Titles:
  • Surgeon
  • Consultant General Surgeon Breast & Thyroid Surgery
  • Registered Specialist Surgeon
Dr. Tan Chuan Chien is a registered Specialist Surgeon (General Surgery) in both Singapore and Australia. His main sub-specialty is in breast and thyroid surgery. In addition, Dr. Tan's interests include breast care services, breast cancer surgery and reconstruction. Qualifications Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)- The University of Adelaide, Australia Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) Full Registration, Singapore Medical Council (SMC) and Specialist Accreditation Board, Singapore (General Surgery) Full General & Specialist Registration (General Surgery), Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) Completed Breast Surgery training through the BreastSurgANZ Fellowship programme Fellow of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore (FAMS) Past Appointments/ Awards/Achievements Dr. Tan Chuan Chien is a Fellowship-trained Breast and Endocrine Surgeon practicing as a Consultant Surgeon at Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore. He also sees patients at Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre and Parkway East Medical Centre. Dr. Tan is a registered Specialist Surgeon (General Surgery) in both Singapore and Australia. Prior to setting up his own practice, Dr. Tan was a Senior Consultant at the Department of General Surgery, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) and Division of General Surgery (Breast Surgery), National University Hospital (NUH), Singapore. He served as Head, Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, NTFGH; and was also appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor at National University of Singapore (NUS)'s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Dr. Tan graduated from The University of Adelaide Medical School, Australia in 2003. He underwent his surgical training in Melbourne where he completed advanced training in General Surgery at Monash Health (Melbourne) in 2012, and was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) and the Specialist register (General Surgery) in Australia. Dr. Tan went on to pursue his sub-speciality interest and passion in Breast & Endocrine Surgery with 3 additional years of accredited training through the highly competitive BreastSurgANZ matching Fellowship programme. In 2012, Dr. Tan was appointed to The University of Melbourne, Department of Surgery (DOS) Fellowship in Breast and Endocrine Surgery, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne. In 2013, he completed a year as a Fellow in Breast & Endocrine Surgery at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane. He then spent another year pursuing his interest in Oncoplastic Breast Surgery as a Fellow in Nepean Hospital, Sydney. The latter emphasises on providing breast cancer patients with surgical options and choices, with a high uptake of breast conservation and reconstruction. Dr. Tan also worked and trained as an Endocrine Surgeon, in particular Thyroid surgery, during his time in these units. In 2015, Dr. Tan returned to Singapore and practiced as a Specialist Surgeon at the Department of General Surgery, NTFGH and subsequently, also at the Division of General Surgery (Breast Surgery) at the National University Hospital (NUH), Singapore. Dr. Tan was the pioneer Breast Surgeon at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Singapore. He was responsible for setting up a comprehensive Breast Service and was the Clinical Lead for the Breast Cancer Value-Driven Outcome (VDO) programme at NTFGH. He was also a member of the Ministry of Health (MOH) Breast Cancer Clinician Workgroup for Value-driven Care (VDC) in 2018 and was also involved in clinical audit and Quality Assurance Committees to ensure standard of care within the hospital. A firm believer in educating the next generation of doctors, Dr. Tan was active in both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. In addition to being the Undergraduate Lead responsible for all medical students rotated to the Department of General Surgery, NTFGH, he was also the Associate Programme Director (APD) for the NUHS Surgery-In-General Residency Programme. Dr. Tan was honoured to receive the NUHS HEROES in Education Award 2020 for continuing education during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the medical research front, Dr. Tan has published in several peer-reviewed journals on the topic of Breast Cancer. While at NTFGH, he succeeded in obtaining collaborative research grants on Cancer research and Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives (in combination totalling >$4million); and managed a team of research coordinators with the intent to improve breast cancer research in Singapore for the benefit of the local population. A supporter of personalised surgical care, Dr. Tan understands that no two patients are the same. He believes in tailoring management for each patient to meet each individual's needs and expectations and understands that his patients' journey can be difficult and frustrating, and he strives to make this experience as pleasant and seamless as possible. Since returning to Singapore in 2015, Dr. Tan has been awarded the Service Quality (SQ) Awards for recognition of excellent service in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Dr. Tan is able to converse in English, Bahasa and Chinese Dialects (Hokkien and Cantonese), and has experience treating and managing both local and expatriate patients from different cultures. Dr. Tan is a Fellowship-trained Breast & Endocrine Surgeon who is registered on the Specialist Register (General Surgery) in both Singapore and Australia. He completed his formal Breast Surgery training through the BreastSurgANZ Fellowship Programme. He was previously Head, Division of Breast & Endocrine Surgery, NTFGH where he was the pioneer breast surgeon there developing a comprehensive, evidence-based Breast Surgery service.