瑪麗醫院

Anaesthesiologists are physicians specially trained to ensure that patients can undergo all sorts of surgery safely and without pain. Research and development of this field has made surgery very safe and our department continues to drive this improvement. Our work has expanded to the whole perioperative care process, management of acute and chronic pain, resuscitation and critical care. Our specialists have subspecialty expertise in the management of various types of surgery and patients.

Our Vision

Our recent focus has been on developing Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine (EBPOM) protocols with surgical colleagues. EBPOM promotes the examination, discussion and application of evidence based medicine to perioperative care with the aim of improving the outcome of patients undergoing surgery, through creating a forum for research development, practical acquisition of essential skills and dissemination of evidence based perioperative knowledge.

Our Services

Clinical Divisions:

• Division of Hepatobiliary & Orthotopic Liver Transplant (OLT) Anaesthesia
  QMH’s Orthotopic Liver Transplant (OLT) program began in the 1991. It is the only program in Hong Kong that serves patients who suffer from liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma or congenital diseases. Our OLT anaesthesia team trains both overseas and local doctors to an internationally recognized standard.
• Division of Neuroanaesthesia
  This includes anaesthesia for neuro-oncological, functional, major neurovascular, interventional and radiological procedures as well as acute stroke interventions. Our division has expertise in neurophysiology, pharmacology and neuromonitoring to ensure patient safety/comfort. Together with neurosurgeons, neurologists and neuroradiologists, we have built a strong multidisciplinary team to advance neuroscience and to optimize care for patients suffering from neurological diseases.
• Division of Obstetric Analgesia & Anaesthesia
  The Division provides 24-hour specialist care to woman with labour pain and/or requiring caesarean sections in QMH. The team also leads antenatal consultations, postnatal care and academic research. QMH is the only hospital in HK where regular multidisciplinary training for obstetric emergency and crisis management is jointly conducted by anaesthesiologists, obstetricians, paediatricians and midwives, to ensure quality teamwork, maternal safety and fetal well-being being enhanced.
• Division of Oesophageal, Plastic and Maxillofacial Anaesthesia
  Head and neck operations are major complicated procedures often involving difficult airways. Our team closely collaborates with surgeons to ensure perioperative patient safety/comfort and is well-experienced in special techniques including one-lung ventilation, fibreoptic intubation, high frequency ventilation and surgical laser.
• Division of Orthopaedic & Traumatology Anaesthesia
  This Division provides anaesthetic care and perioperative management for orthopaedic patients. We perform ultrasound-guided regional/peripheral nerve blocks to enhance postoperative analgesia. Our Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Program for patients undergoing major joint replacement achieves good patient outcome, satisfaction and significantly shortens hospital stay. We provide specialist teaching/training (especially regional blocks), conduct regular service audit and research.
• Division of Pain Medicine
  The Division has provided regular acute (APS), chronic and cancer pain (CPS) services since 1990 and was the first hospital in Hong Kong to provide the service. APS cares for over 4,000 postoperative/acute pain patients per year. CPS is a comprehensive tertiary chronic/cancer pain service with over 1,500 cases/year. We provide medications, intervention procedures and cognitive behavioral therapy (SMILE Program). The Division is the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists accredited Fellowship Training Centre for pain specialists and conducts research with the University of Hong Kong.
• Division of Paediatric Anaesthesia
  QMH provides anaesthesia services to children and babies requiring elective and emergency surgery. We also provide sedation and anaesthesia services to children undergoing diagnostic and interventional procedures.
• Division of Vascular Anaesthesia
  QMH is the quaternary referral center for Hong Kong Island that performs a repertoire of vascular procedures, ranging from open surgery to interventional and hybrid operations, so that it is now the second largest aortic arch b-EVAR centre.

Training Centre for Anaesthetic and Pain Specialists

Anaesthetic specialist training at QMH commenced in 1954. Accreditation has been obtained from Australia (now Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists) since the 1970s. Currently, the program is overseen/accredited by the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists. This is a 6-year program entailing all major anaesthetic subspecialities including intensive care medicine. We have trained more than 50 fully qualified specialists in anaesthesiology since 1995.

Research & Academic Activities (HKU)

The HKU Department of Anaesthesiology is an outstanding academic institute that teaches medical students and conducts scientific and clinical research. Our research include pain medicine, ischaemia/reperfusion injury, intravenous anaesthesia and anaesthetic pharmacology. We have a well-equipped laboratory and work with scientists from many different fields and countries. We established the “Laboratory and Clinical Research Institute for Pain” in 2012. Currently, we have 12 MPhil and PhD students from HK, China, USA, Canada and Taiwan. We also actively participate in community services.