Page 68 - HKU Surgery 110 Anniversary E-Book

Chapter III. Putting Hong Kong Surgery on the World Map Professor Ong and Sir John Bruce,

President of the Royal College of
Surgeons of Edinburgh.

International Networks

Perhaps Ong’s greatest contribution to the Department was
his skill as an international networker. Ong attended overseas
surgical academic meetings, sat on editorial boards and took
up fellowships. He used these forums to share his surgical feats,
piquing the curiosity of other surgeons who began to come
to Hong Kong to see his skills first-hand. These interactions
resulted in great opportunities for surgical staff to participate
in academic exchanges and gain international exposure.

Ong also used his networks to benefit young surgeons by
arranging for their examinations to be held in Hong Kong rather
than in the UK, which until then was the only option. In 1966,
the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh agreed to conduct
the first diet of the Part 1 FRCS (Edin) in Hong Kong in which
14 of the 29 candidates passed; Part II was added in 1970. The
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons also later agreed to
hold exams here, with the two colleges conducting exams in
alternate years supported by the University Surgical Unit and
the Hong Kong Surgical Society. This arrangement solidified
the Department’s leadership in providing professional surgical
training to benefit Hong Kong as a whole. Ong also tapped his
networks to place young surgeons overseas for specialty training.

Two professional societies were established through Ong’s
efforts. In 1964, he launched the Hong Kong Surgical Society, Professor Ong at the Hong Kong
an important platform for fraternity and the exchange of ideas Surgical Forum.
and solutions for surgical problems unique to Hong Kong. In
1976, he was the driving force behind the establishment of the
Association of Surgeons of Southeast Asia, later renamed the
Asian Surgical Association.

By the time Ong left in 1982, the Department was well known
among the leading surgical associations around the world. That
reputation would become solidified under the watch of Professor
John Wong, when the Department would make ground-breaking
achievements and advance the professional development of its
staff.

Professor Ong and Sir John Lowenthal, President
of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

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