Professional Qualifications
Dr Lau’s Profile
Dr David Lau is an Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon with over 18 years in the speciality, having qualified and worked in the UK, Canada and Singapore. He has a substantial body of local and international experience, on-going academic and scientific work, and speaks English, Mandarin and Bahasa.
Born in Kuala Lumpur, Dr Lau grew up and schooled in Singapore. He graduated from the University of Nottingham, UK with a Bachelor of Medical Science First Class Honours in 1987, followed by Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 1989.
Dr Lau received his early surgical training in the United Kingdom, working in hospitals such as St Mary’s Hospital in London, the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, and the prestigious Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. He received his Fellowship in Otolaryngology from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1996.
Following his return to Singapore in 1996 he was admitted as a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine of Singapore in 2004. In Singapore, he trained in ENT at the Singapore General Hospital, and subsequently undertook a Fellowship in Laryngology and Voice Disorders at the University of British Columbia, Canada from 2000 to 2002 under the tutelage of world-leading laryngologist, Professor Murray Morrison. His time in Vancouver culminated in a Master of Surgery degree from the University of British Columbia in 2002.
Dr Lau has presented numerous research papers at local, regional and international otolaryngology conferences, and has won several awards for his clinical and research work, including at the notable COSM meeting in the USA. He is also widely-published in numerous publications and journals including the Laryngoscope, Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Clinical Otolaryngology, and Head & Neck. He continues with on-going cross-disciplinary research and teaching, was Senior Clinical Lecturer at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and is currently on the examining board of the Master of Medicine and Academy of Medicine Otolaryngology examinations. Recently in July and August 2013 Dr Lau’s work was featured on Channel 8 news and Channel News Asia.
Dr Lau left SGH for private practice in September 2012, and remains a Visiting Consultant at the Singapore General Hospital and Raffles Hospital.
Clinical Interests
Dr Lau treats Ear, Nose and Throat disorders in adults and children. As a Consultant then Senior Consultant Surgeon at the Singapore General Hospital, and Raffles Hospital, he has accumulated many years of experience in the management of a broad range of ENT conditions including nasal allergy, nasal polyps, sinus disorders, nasopharyngeal cancer screening, snoring and sleep apnoea, hearing loss, tinnitus and dizziness, acute & chronic ear disease, neck lumps including thyroid nodules and salivary gland disorders, and multi-disciplinary management of head and neck cancers.
Dr Lau has two main subspecialty interest areas. The first being nasal allergy and sinus disorders. Dr Lau studied the techniques of endoscopic sinus surgery pioneer Prof Heinz Stammberger in the hometown of Graz early in his ENT career, and worked with one of the early movers of endoscopic sinus surgery in the United Kingdom, Dr Robin Youngs. In Singapore he trained for three years under internationally renowned endoscopic sinus surgeon Professor DS Sethi at the Singapore General Hospital. He has published on clinical aspects of sinus disorders and co-directed a number of sinus surgery courses. He is also responsible for setting up the ENT allergy service at SGH. Dr Lau has practiced endoscopic sinus surgery for many years including revision surgery, image guidance surgery and more recently minimally invasive balloon sinuplasty.
Dr Lau went on to expand his repertoire and further sub-specialise in disorders of the throat, voice and swallowing. From 2000 to 2002 he completed a fellowship in laryngology with Professor Murray Morrison at the University of British Columbia in Canada. On his return he established the Voice Clinic at the Singapore General Hospital, and is internationally recognised as one of the region’s foremost laryngologists. He directed the first SGH ENT Laser Workshops in 2008 and 2012, first Trans-nasal Esophagoscopy Workshop in 2008, and Workshop on Multidisciplinary Management of Dysphagia & Swallowing in 2010, alongside many other workshops and seminars for GP’s and other ENT specialists.
The spectrum of diagnosis and management of disorders of the throat, larynx, voice and swallowing, includes sore throat, tonsillitis, chronic cough, globus pharyngeus, chronic laryngitis, irritable larynx, hoarseness, professional and performing voice, swallowing problems, breathing difficulties, early cancers of the voice box requiring laser surgery, surgical and non-surgical management of dysphagia, and tracheostomy management. Dr Lau is skilled in the field of voice surgery including office-based laryngeal surgery, use of botulinum toxin (Botox) in the larynx, office-based and surgical treatment of vocal fold paralysis, and microsurgery & laser surgery of the larynx.
Personal
Dr Lau is a committed Christian, a family man and loves sports. He was a competitive triathlete until a 2006 bicycle-car accident whereupon he transferred his passion for athletics to the safety of the gym and yoga. He is also a former national canoeing champion, club swimmer, BSAC dive leader and advanced technical diver. Other interests include skiing, power-boating, hiking and volunteer work which includes a yearly ear surgery mission camp to Bangladesh. He is married to a Singaporean editor and is a devoted sports dad to his eldest son, a national sailor; youngest son, a budding interschool Taekwondo competitor; and continues to urge his daughter to compete in her synchronised swimming school team.
Languages
- English
- Mandarin
- Bahasa Malaysia / Indonesia
Advanced ENT
6 Napier Road
#07-16 Gleneagles Medical Centre
Singapore 258499
Contact no: 64711031
Email: info@advancedent.com.sg
