ABOUT US

Surgery has always been a process that brings about anxiety and stress.   At Paediatrics & Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery (PACTS), we understand this and we are passionate to bring together exceptional people to provide the exceptional care that you and your family needs.

Dr Loh Yee Jim is one of the most experienced congenital heart surgeons in Singapore. He is the past head of cardiothoracic surgery service at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH).  Under his leadership, KKH is leading the nation in having the best outcomes after congenital heart surgery.  Having been a heart patient himself, he fully understands the stresses that the patients and families experience.

Every heart patient matters. Every child is important.

Education & Training

Graduated in 2000, Dr Loh started his training in cardiothoracic surgery in 2004 and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh in 2009. He was then awarded the prestigious overseas training scholarship from the Ministry of Health (MOH), Singapore.

Understanding that experience and training is very important, he went for a fellowship at the Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in 2010.  Boston Children’s Hospital was ranked the best hospital for cardiology and congenital heart surgery by the US News and World Report for multiple consecutive years.  In recognition of his hard work and ability, in 2012, he was appointed to be the Chief Resident of the programme.  This was an extremely rare achievement for an overseas fellow. Dr Loh returned and joined KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in 2012 and was concurrently appointed a visiting consultant to the National Heart Centre, Singapore.

Besides his interests in paediatric heart surgery, Dr Loh is also actively involved in adult cardiac surgical work. He championed the use of video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) closure of atrial septal defects as a form of minimally invasive cardiac surgery. He has also performed the largest series of aortic valve sparing root replacement procedures in Singapore.

Appointments

Dr Loh has been active in developing the cardiothoracic profession in Singapore over the years. He was an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, and a Clinical Instructor to the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Singapore. He became the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in 2015.

Dr Loh held various appointments as a member of the minimally invasive surgery accreditation committee in KKH, surgical director of the national paediatric extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) programme, programme and medical director of the National Cardiovscular Homograft Bank (NCHB).  He was also previously the Co-director of the National Paediatric Heart Transplant and Ventricular Assist Device programme. 

Despite his busy schedule, he is also very active in teaching residents in the art and science of cardiothoracic surgery. He was appointed as a core faculty member, programme evaluation committee (PEC) and clinical competency committee (CCC) faculty member. He was also appointed to the Ministry of Health as a member of the Residency Advisory Committee (RAC) member in Feb 2018.  The RAC is primarily responsible to develop the specialty, taking into consideration the healthcare priorities and needs of the nation.

Research

Over the years, Dr Loh obtained competitive grants in medical device innovations through extensive collaborations with our local university. He has published in various indexed journals and is an invited speaker at numerous local, Asean and international conferences.