S'porean doctor, 54, accused of severing wrong arteries causing patient's death, restricted from surgery for 18 months

A doctor who was accused of severing the wrong arteries during a keyhole surgery has been restricted from performing most types of surgery for 18 months.

54-year-old Singaporean Fong Yan Kit faces a charge of causing the death of his patient by a negligent act.

According to CNA, the coroner's inquiry into the death of 63-year-old Tan Bee Hwa was a result of the procedure, and her death could have been avoided.

During the kidney surgery on Apr. 29, 2022, at Raffles Hospital, he allegedly cut and tied the wrong arteries and finished the surgery without checking if the correct vessels were severed.

Tan's intra-abdominal organs suffered tissue death as a result of inadequate blood supply, and she died on May 2, 2022.

According to the grounds of decision of the Interim Orders Committee (IOC) inquiry published by the  Singapore Medical Council (SMC), the restrictions were sought to protect the public and public confidence in the medical profession, especially since the ongoing proceedings were widely reported in the media.

Surgery

Fong was registered under the Medical Registration Act as a specialist in urology since May 3, 2005 and joined Raffles Hospital in 2006.

On Apr. 28, 2022, at around 3:00am, Tan presented to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department of the hospital with complaints of pain, blood in her urine and vomiting.

A scan showed a 7.5cm tumour on her left kidney, and Fong advised her to undergo surgery.

He conducted the surgery, but two of the vessels he believed were branches of the left renal artery were actually the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and coeliac trunk/axis.

The cuts were only discovered on May 1, 2022.

Following the conclusion of the surgery at around 8am, Fong noted that Tan's condition on examination was unremarkable.

However, Tan complained of worsening abdominal pain as the hours went on.

Cardiac arrest

Tan's condition worsened on May 1, 2022, and she presented symptoms of difficulty breathing and low blood pressure; she later went into cardiac arrest twice at around 6:30am and at around 8:15am to 8:30am.

At around 11:40am, a referral was made to a vascular interventional radiologist who reviewed CT scans taken that same day.

An urgent referral was made to a vascular surgeon who advised emergency surgery to rejoin the arteries that were cut.

Emergency surgery commenced at 2:53pm, but the damaged organs were not salvageable.

She died on May 2, 2022, and an autopsy was conducted.

The SMC received a complaint on Jun. 1, 2023, from Tan's daughter regarding Fong's treatment and care.

Council's findings

SMC said in its grounds of decision that Fong's misidentification and deliberate cutting and tying of Tan's arteries raised "serious doubts" about his skill and competence as a urologist.

The SMC added that the surgery was a routine procedure but Fong wrongly identified and ligated Tan's arteries even though they were in their "usual anatomical positions".

"Dr Fong likely has a fundamental misunderstanding and/or misapprehension of the human anatomy, and his mistaken ligation during the Surgery may not have been a one-off, inadvertent error."

The SMC noted that three years after his patient's death at the Coroner's Inquiry, Fong had still wrongly identified the location of the aorta and "initially maintained that his understanding was correct before eventually conceding his mistake".

The SMC added that Fong deviated from the correct sequence of cutting and tying, and the order was described by the coroner as "unfathomable".

SMC stated that Fong had at least three different opportunities to recognise his mistakes and rectify them before the conclusion of the surgery, "all of which he missed".

Fong's case

Fong said he has voluntarily stopped performing major abdominal surgery on patients since Jun. 20, 2022.

He was also placed on an indefinite leave of absence since Mar. 12, 2026, by the hospital after criminal proceedings commenced.

Fong said since March 2026, he has only engaged in clinical practice as a locum at private general practice clinics on an ad-hoc basis.

He noted that he is the sole breadwinner supporting a homemaker wife and four children, with his income suffering a significant drop since 2022.

This was due to his voluntary restriction, and he added that he was prepared not to perform any major abdominal surgery until disciplinary tribunal proceedings against him are completed.

Performed at least 200 laparoscopic surgeries

Fong objected to the SMC's reliance on the coroner's inquiry and said: "It would be incredibly prejudicial and unfair for the SMC to rely on a partial and incomplete account" of a state expert's complete views, as the expert's report was not made available in its entirety to the IOC.

Fong's lawyers also said that in his 20 years at Raffles Hospital he had performed or assisted in at least 200 laparoscopic surgeries.

"He has performed more than 60 open and laparoscopic nephrectomy in the last 20 years, and there has not been a single case of accidental transection of the SMA or postoperative death."

Laparoscopic nephrectomies are procedures that remove part or all of the kidney.

Necessary for restrictions

The IOC said it was necessary for the restriction of not performing any surgery, whether as a primary, secondary or assistant surgeon, for a period of 18 months starting Jun. 17, 2026.

This excludes minor office procedures performed in a primary care setting.

Fong must also inform SMC of all places at which he practices or intends to practice and inform employers hiring him for medical work that his registration is subject to these conditions.