Lim Jit Fong

Dr. Lim Jit Fonggraduated from the National University of Singapore in 1995 and obtained his Fellowship in Surgery from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, FRCS (Glasg), in 1999. After completing his Advanced Specialty Training in General Surgery in 2003, Dr. Lim was conferred a SGH Fellowship to further his training in management of functional defaecatory disorders and minimally invasive colorectal surgery at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia. Upon returning from Australia in 2005, Dr. Lim worked as a consultant in the Department of Colorectal Surgery, SGH until leaving for private practice in 2011.

Dr. Lim is very passionate about improving the quality of his patients’ care. In caring for his patients, Dr. Lim has always maintained a steadfast principle, “Make decisions for your patients as if they are your loved ones. If your decision is not good enough for your loved one, it is not good enough for your patient.” For his dedication toward patient care, he has received numerous awards for excellence in patient care through the years.

Improving patient care is not from the service aspect alone but also involves improving the quality of care through research and educating a new generation of doctors. Dr. Lim has authored numerous scientific research articles in various colorectal surgery topics and these have been published in various peer-reviewed medical journals worldwide. Dr. Lim has also held several appointments concurrently in SGH for clinical research and medical education. Of note, he streamlined all past and present research publications from the Department of Colorectal Surgery, SGH, to electronic versions (a first among all public hospitals in Singapore) and was instrumental in creating the curriculum in Colorectal Surgery for the Duke-NUS Graduate School of Medicine, which all students in the course are currently using.

Dr. Lim has a strong interest in minimally invasive colorectal surgery. He is adept at laparoscopic (keyhole) colorectal surgery including single incision (single keyhole) colorectal surgery. He is also one of the few surgeons in Singapore accredited to do Robotic Colorectal Surgery. He has performed hundreds of laparoscopic colorectal operations and has lectured as well as conducted workshops about laparoscopic colorectal surgery at various local and international meetings.

One of Dr. Lim’s main interests is in the management of patients with functional bowel disorders such as bowel incontinence and constipation. In 2008, Dr. Lim started the Pelvic Floor Disorder Service, SGH, together with specialists from the departments of Urology and Obstetrics & Gynaecology. This is the world’s first multi-disciplinary clinical service providing a holistic service to patients suffering from complex functional disorders of the pelvis. He served as the director from the inception until his resignation from SGH in 2011.

Dr. Lim serves on the editorial board and regularly reviews research publications for several peer-reviewed journals. He is also a member of the Singapore Medical Association, Continence Society of Singapore and Society of Colorectal Surgeons (Singapore), having served in the executive committee on 3 separate terms.

Currently, Dr. Lim is an executive committee member of the Society for Continence, Singapore and heads its Bowel Continence Workgroup. He is also an executive committee member of the Chapter of General Surgeons, Academy of Medicine of Singapore.

He also serves as Senior Consultant and Director of Anorectal Physiology Laboratory at Fortis Colorectal Hospital, Singapore’s first hospital dedicated to management of colorectal diseases. Dr. Lim is also a Visiting Consultant to the Department of Surgery at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore.