Dr Koong Heng Nung

Dr Koong Heng Nung is a General Surgeon currently practising at Koong & Ho Surgery Centre in Novena.

With more than 20 years of experience, his practice covers thoracic surgery, breast surgery and general surgery. In thoracic surgery, he manages indeterminate lung lesions seen on x-rays, lung cancer, and performs minimally invasive surgery. He also treats common chest conditions such as mediastinal tumours and carries out selected complex procedures involving the chest wall and lower neck with head and neck surgeons when needed. In breast surgery, he manages breast cancers and performs breast biopsies, breast conserving surgery, sentinel node biopsy, mastectomy, and breast reconstruction. As part of his general surgical practice, he also treats skin lumps such as sebaceous cysts and lipoma, hernias, and other skin and deeper tumours including blood vessels malformations.

Dr Koong graduated from the National University of Singapore. After obtaining his Master’s degree in General Surgery in 1993, he went on to specialise in thoracic surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, from 1998 to 2000. He is a member of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Prior to private practice, Dr Koong was the former Head of the Surgical Oncology Department and Chief Thoracic Surgeon at the National Cancer Centre Singapore. From 2000 to 2014, he practised thoracic surgical oncology at the National Cancer Centre Singapore and continued with emergency general surgical service at Singapore General Hospital, including trauma.

In Singapore, he was part of the senior staff who oversaw the care of health services during three pandemics, including COVID-19. During his tenure from 2008 to 2014, he repeatedly won awards for excellent service, exemplary education and innovations in service improvement. Besides his clinical work, he is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School.

He has also served as invited faculty, lecturer and speaker at conferences, workshops and talks locally and abroad. His awards include the Service with a Heart Award and the Humanity Award. Dr Koong also initiated the smoke-free pub legislation across Singapore. In addition, he founded the Tobacco Free Generation International social movement and the non-profit organisation Tobacco Free Generation International.

Dr Koong is accredited to perform surgical procedures at Thomson Medical Centre.