Professor J. Cantlie graduated from Aberdeen in Scotland and pursued a career of missionary and medicine. He came to Hong Kong in 1887 and became a co-founder of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese. His great experience in teaching in London provided a solid foundation for the new medical school. His favorite student of the time was Sun Yat-sen. Professor Cantlie is well-recognized in literature for ‘Cantlie’s line’ which delineates the surgical anatomy of the liver. (Cantlie J. A new arrangement of the right and left lobes of the liver. J. Anat. Physiol 1898; 32:4-9).

"He studied liver abscess and its complications comprehensively. Professor Cantlie described the procedure of draining the abscess by tapping with satisfactory results. For many years his method has been described in surgical textbooks". (Extract from book ‘A Romance in Medicine’)

After leaving the Hong Kong College of Medicine, he kept his contacts with Dr. Sun Yat-sen and followed up on his professional and political career. He played a key role in securing the release of Sun who had been abducted and held prisoner in the Chinese Legation in London. Professor Cantlie survived to see his student becoming the first president of Republic of China. Professor Cantlie died in 1926.

Professor K.H. Digby graduated in London. He joined the University of Hong Kong in 1913 as a Professor of Anatomy and later became Professor of  Surgery. He was a meticulous surgeon who operated with perfect anatomical dissection. (These were the days of surgery with no antibiotics.) Professor Digby’s obsession with ‘no touch technique’ during operation were often mentioned and remembered. His long tenure of more than 30 years as professor and head of the department ended with his internment during WWII. He entered private practice after the war, and was appointed as an Emeritus Professor until his death in 1954.

Professor G.B. Ong, affectionately known as "GB", was a graduate of HKU. He retired in 1982 and remained active in private practice till the age of 80 when he was diagnosed to be suffering from liver cancer. He passed away on the very day in Jan 2004 on the occasion of GB Ong lecture being delivered at the Hong Kong Surgical Forum by an eminent overseas speaker.

Visitors to Hong Kong, in the field of surgery, always made a point to meet GB as matter of privilege and respect to the great surgeon. Surgery, however big or radical, was ‘no big deal’ for Professor Ong. Stories about his stamina and determination are legendary, and were already evident since the beginning of his career.

"One particularly intriguing incident took place at QMH in 1948, where the anaesthetist was unable to pass an endotracheal tube for the patient undergoing thoracotomy and lobectomy. As the operation was considered to be urgent, high subarachnoid (spinal) block was given.

The operation was very speedily completed, of course, with little bleeding, as the patient was grossly hypotensive. The surgical house officer Dr. G.B. Ong spent the rest of the day and night to keep the patient alive and resuscitate him. The story had a happy ending and the patient survived". (Extract from book ‘Anaesthetic in Hong Kong’)

Professor J. Wong is a graduate of the University of Sydney and came to Hong Kong in 1975. After the retirement of Professor Ong in 1982, Professor Wong took over the reigns of the department. The department’s stature, reputation and standards have blossomed under his leadership with a spectacular rise in its standing in the surgical world. The department has become a place of excellence in esophageal surgery, living-related liver transplants and head and neck surgery. In the field of education, the Hong Kong Medical Council has singled out the Department of Surgery for its innovations and initiatives in medical education as a model for others to follow.

In spite of all the personal efforts and vision which Professor Wong has put into uplifting the prestige of the department and its international recognition, he believes in a corporate image, and takes no personal credit for its glory.

Professor S.T. Fan graduated from The University of Hong Kong in 1976. Before taking up the position of Head of Department in July 2008, Professor Fan had been Chief of Divisions of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation. In 1991, he performed the first successful liver transplant in Hong Kong. In 1996, he and his liver transplant team performed the first successful adult-to-adult right liver living donor liver transplantation in the world. His extensive research on liver transplantation and common liver diseases in Asia, namely, hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatitis B, cirrhosis, intrahepatic stones, and acute biliary pancreatitis, has led to the development of new treatment methods that significantly improve patient outcomes and are widely adopted.

A highly respected surgeon, scientist and teacher, Professor Fan sets himself as a role model for junior colleagues to follow. His generous sharing of enormous clinical and research experiences is a precious gift for both the local and international medical communities. While fostering the young talent, Professor Fan pledges to bring the Department toward new horizons of clinical and academic excellence.

Professor C.M. Lo graduated from The University of Hong Kong and received surgical training at Queen Mary Hospital. He was appointed Chair Professor at The University of Hong Kong in 2004 and is currently Chin Lan-Hong Professor in Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery. He took up the headship of the Department of Surgery in July 2011. He is internationally renowned for his achievements in hepatobiliary surgery. By virtue of his outstanding clinical skills, innovation, leadership and quest for excellence, his pioneering work in adult right-lobe living donor liver transplant has revolutionized the practice of liver transplantation world-wide and has put Hong Kong and China on the world map of liver transplantation.

Professor Lo’s enthusiasm and novelty in research is most instrumental in cultivating an explorative and investigative ambiance in the Department.  Not only being directive in research, he also views it as his life-long obligation to breed the young surgeons by transferring his knowledge and expertise through education and sharing.  His passion has contributed greatly to the advancement of the surgical profession.  In the years to come, while ensuring the Department continues to grow and blossom in its areas of eminence, Professor Lo, under his ingenious leadership, targets to re-engineer the Department and leads the fellow staff to reach another summit in all its future developments edging to the international front.