Prof. Wing-Keung Cheng (Division Chief)

Vascular Surgery

STAFF

• Professor Stephen Wing Keung CHENG
  Division Chief and Serena H C Yang Professorship in Vascular Surgery
  MBBS, MS, FRCS(Eng), FRCS(Edin), FCSHK, FHKAM(Surg)
  email:wkcheng@hkucc.hku.hk

• Dr. Albert Chi Wai TING
  Consultant
  MBBS, MS, FRCS(Edin), FCSHK, FHKAM(Surg)

• Dr. Yiu Che CHAN
  Assistant Professor
  MBBS(UK), BSc(UK), MD(UK), FRCS(England), FRCS(UK)(Surg)

• Dr. Alfred Chiu Cheuk WONG
  Associate Consultant
  MBBS, FRCS(Edin), FRCSEd(Gen), FCSHK, FHKAM(Surg)

• Dr. Wai Ki YIU
  Assistant Professor
  

• Dr. Lai-yee Bernice CHEUK
  Post-doctoral Fellow
  BSc, PhD

ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES

The Division of Vascular Surgery was founded in 1990 to provide a comprehensive service to patients with atherosclerotic occlusive disease. The division is the only independent full time vascular surgery specialty unit in Hong Kong, recognized by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in providing clinical service and higher training.

The clinical services comprise in-patient treatment for complex arterial and venous diseases, open and minimally invasive arterial and venous surgery on three whole day operating sessions a week.  We perform in excess of 500 operations a year, of which more than 300 are major arterial reconstructive procedures, including repair of aortic aneurysms, peripheral arterial bypasses, and carotid surgery for stroke prevention.  We also provide a specialty led 24 hour emergency service for acute limb ischemia, ruptured aneurysms, arterial trauma, and other urgent conditions.  We are also a dedicated center for venous diseases, with capabilities of subfascial endoscopic perforator surgery and radiofrequency ablation of varicose veins.

STRENGTHS AND DEVELOPOMENTS

In line with technological advances, the division leads the development of endovascular surgery, and currently more than half of its procedures are interventional-based.  We had more than 10 years of successful experiences in endovascular intervention for peripheral vascular disease and we are autonomous in performing endovascular aortic stent grafting for abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms, aortic dissections and trauma, including complex hybrid procedures and fenestrated stent grafts.  The division is also pursuing a carotid stenting program, and exploring new modalities in peripheral angioplasty, stents, and atherectomy devices.  Staff development is stable and expanding, with clinical and research experience gathered from the US, England, and Australia.

The Division has established a reputation for its achievements in vascular surgery especially in aortic stent grafting, with an experience of more than 200 procedures to date.  We are involved in assisting the development of endovascular aortic programs in Taiwan, Malaysia, and Japan.  The current workload is on average one per week.  We are in close cooperation with industry in the development of new devices and in running prospective trials of treating aortic dissections.

The Francis Tien Vascular Centre, established in 1997, is committed to providing the highest medical care in the specialty, promotion of patient education, as well as disease surveillance and screening, prevention and vascular medicine research.

The Division aims for future developments the building of a full endovascular operating theatre which would extend our capability of more complex diseases.  Current trends also call for a future integration and coordination with cardiac surgery after their relocation to Queen Mary Hospital, and cooperation with neurosurgery and neurology in expanding treatment and prevention of cerebrovascular diseases and stroke.

Diagnostic procedures available in the Francis Tien Vascular Centre include:

RESEARCH

Staff of the Division actively participates in clinical and laboratory research and has extensive publications in international scientific and medical journal, and has received RGC and other external grants in vascular surgery studies.  Current research interests include:

Endovascular aortic stent graft technology
Aortic dissections and endovascular treatment
Computational fluid dynamics and aortic morphology
Three dimensional imaging and aortic stent grafts
Pathogenesis of aortic aneurysms
Atherosclerosis and atherogenesis, apoptosis, and lipid studies
Cryobiology
Epidemiology of peripheral arterial and venous disease
Carotid disease progression, plaque morphology and biology
Venous insufficiency and quantitative venous hemodynamics

COLLABORATIONS

Our Division is involved in several inter-departmental collaborations in vascular studies, including the Division of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine and the K.K. Leung Diabetic Centre.  A recent RGC-funded project in aortic dissections involved cooperation with Cardiothoracic Surgery, where we also studied carotid disease and thoracic stent grafting.  Active projects in aortic arch flow dynamics are in progress with scientists at the Department of Engineering.  International collaborative work with the Yale University has resulted in setting up of a cell biology laboratory with a current emphasis in cryobiology and cryoplasty.

The Division also offers the benefit of its expertise to other specialists, such as chiropodists, orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, interventional radiologists, dietitians and rehabilitation services.  This, and together with other supportive and educational services that are readily available in Queen Mary Hospital, have helped to establish the undisputed best centre for peripheral vascular disease in Hong Kong.