Professor WONG Hee Kit is Emeritus Consultant at the National University Spine Institute (NUSI), National University Health System (NUHS), and Honorary Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS). He was the Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the National University of Singapore and the National University Hospital from 2004 to 2015; Head of Spine Surgery from 1996 to 2015; and Chair of the University Orthopaedics, Hand & Reconstructive Microsurgery Cluster, NUHS, from 2008 to 2019.
His special interests are in the surgical treatment of back pain, scoliosis in children and adults, and other forms of spinal deformity, with expertise in minimally invasive spine surgery as well as major reconstructive and revision spinal surgery. He is a pioneer of minimally invasive "keyhole" surgery and vertebral body tethering (VBT) for the treatment of juvenile and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
His research interests are in spinal nerve injury and repair, tissue engineering solutions for back pain, the epidemiology and treatment of adolescent and adult scoliosis.
In recognition of his contributions towards elevating the quality of healthcare delivery in Singapore, he was awarded the Master Clinician Award by the National University Health System in 2011, National Outstanding Clinician Award by the Ministry of Health, Singapore in 2012, and was the inaugural recipient of the national accolade - Distinguished Senior Clinician Award by the Ministry of Health, Singapore in 2016. In 2020, he was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) by the President of Singapore and in 2021 he was conferred Emeritus Consultant by the National University Hospital, Singapore.
He is a member of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS), Scoliosis Research Society (SRS), the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS), and the Asia Pacific Spine Society (APSS). He is the founding President of the Singapore Spine Society and has served as the President of ISASS and APSS, as well as on the Board of Directors of the SRS. He currently serves on the Board of the APSS and the Pacific Asian Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (PASMISS). He peer-reviews for the journal SPINE, the Journal of Spinal Deformity, the Asian Spine Journal, the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, and the Journal of Orthopaedic Science.
