It was for me. Also, when I work, I When I am home, I focus on my

seconds for the laser to be applied on the
center of the patient’s cornea without
creating any flaps. Altogether, the process
takes only about 5 minutes. Since there
is no external cut, the risk of infection is
almost negligible. Patients recover within
a day, a few of my patients even jog and
swim the following day.
EHB: What are the most common
eye problems patients come to
you with?
Dr Lee: The most common eye problems
are myopia, cataract and presbyopia.
EHB: Share with us a few
tips to keeping our eyes
bright and healthy.
Dr Lee: When you are 45 and above, it
A
micable and down-to-earth
with a great sense of humour,
Dr Lee comes across as the
first person you would
approach for directions when you are
lost. Hence, it was hard for me to believe
that the not-so-serious Dr Lee was once
one of the only three Asian eye surgeons
who sat on the 10-member Global
Advisory Board for Refractive Surgery,
Bausch & Lomb. He was also the former
Head of Lasik surgery in Tan Tock Seng
Hospital (TTSH) and National University
Hospital (NUH), the surgeon who
performed the first IntraCor Laser Surgery
in Southeast Asia to treat presbyopia.
To add on to his already admirable
accolade of achievements, he is now
the Medical Director and Senior
Consultant of Parkway Eye Centre.
Having grown up with his
grandmother who was blind, Dr Lee
tells me he always knew he would
be an eye surgeon, even at a young
age. Yet being labeled as one of the
top eye surgeons in the industry is
not his priority - his children are.
“Always encourage, never discourage
your kids!”.
The doting father of four is a
loving husband as well. Married to
the top ‘O’ Level student of 1981
who’s also a doctor today, Dr Lee shares
with a hearty grin, “She’s my university
sweetheart, wife and best friend!”
I sat down with Dr Lee to understand
his secrets behind his fulfilling journey to
where he is today.
Ezyhealth & Beauty: What inspired
you to become an eye surgeon?
Dr Lee Hung Ming: My grandmother
was blind and I lived with her when I
was young so I knew what it was like to
be blind. My grandmother’s blindness
ignited my desire to be an eye doctor.
As I grew older, I also realized that I’m
a very optimistic person and I enjoy
helping others. Dealing with Lasik
and Cataract patients has offered me
ample opportunities to help others
achieve better quality in life. Everyday I
am greeted with happy smiles, people
satisfied that they have better vision
again. It really makes my day.
EHB: Share with us your journey
to becoming an international eye
surgeon.
Dr Lee: It’s been a very long and arduous
journey. I’ve been fortunate to have
trained under Dr Authur Lim and Dr
Victor Yong, well-known eye surgeons in
Singapore. They were my mentors and
inspirations. After I completed training,
I went on to teach about eye surgeries
and conduct courses for eye doctors in
the Asia Pacific region. I was honoured to
receive one of the only two A.C.E. awards
given out by the Asia Pacific Association
of Cataract and Refractive Surgery yearly. I
also gained valuable experience being the
lead investigator in a few research studies.
channel more time towards patient care
which I enjoy. Now, I’ve more time for my
patients.
EHB: You are named the ‘Everest
LASIK surgeon’. Share with us
how it was performing LASIK
for Mr Khoo Swee Chiow
(Singaporean adventurer, author
and motivational speaker) and the
“
It was really about time management for
me. Also, when I work, I stay focused and
do my best. When I am home, I focus on
my family. Spending time with my family
also helps me concentrate better at
work. I try to spend my time meaningfully
I enjoy playing with my children.
EHB: Parkway Eye Centre at
Gleneagles Hospital is the first
private hospital to offer bladefree cornea transplant surgery.
Share with us the journey you and
your team took to spearhead this
project in Asia.
Dr Lee: When I came over to Parkway
Eye Centre, I was given the assistance of
the latest eye technology. At that time,
we had the new IntraLasik Laser machine
which we later found out could perform
cornea transplants blade-free. In order
to be well-prepared to train our team of
surgeons, I made visits to eye surgeons
in America to understand how they
performed eye surgeries.
EHB: You were formerly the
Head of LASIK surgery in 2 public
hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital
(TTSH) and National University
Hospital (NUH). What made you
decide on a career switch from
public to private service?
Dr Lee: In the private service sector,
there is flexibility when it comes to time.
Unlike public service sectors, the private
sector allows me to do away with most of
the clinical and administrative work and
channel more time towards patient care
”
Singapore Women Everest Team
members who climbed Mt Everest
in 2009. There must have been a
lot of sress!
Dr Lee: Khoo Swee Chiow is the
first Singaporean to climb Mt Everest
in 2001. He was also the fourth in the
world to go for the ‘Grand Slam’ adventure
which covered the North and South Poles
and 7 highest peaks in 7 continents. Later
on I also performed Lasik for the Everest
Team. It is a privilege to be able to
contribute towards their great conquest.
They have done Singapore proud and I
am glad to play a small part in it. Having
done thousands of Lasik procedures, there
was not much stress at all. Nonetheless,
everyone’s eyes are precious, whether they
belong to the Everest Team or not.
EHB: Not too long ago, you
performed the first IntraCor
laser surgery in SouthEast Asia
to treat presbyopia. Tell us what
IntraCor is, and how it can benefit
patients.
Dr Lee: Intracor is a German technology
and it can treat presbyopia which will
happen to everyone once they hit 40
years of age or so. Intracor is safe and
minimally invasive and takes only 20
is important to go for regular eye
checkups with your eye doctor. On top of
that, always maintain a good posture
when you read or do computer work.
Instead of straining your eyes, enlarge
your print size. For instance, the font
sizes on your iPhone. Don’t read in the
dark or in a moving vehicle. When the
vehicle is moving, you have to
constantly try to focus and fixate your
eyes on the page. This is very strenuous
on the eyes. When you are outdoors,
or when you are suntanning, always
wear sunglasses. Diet-wise, maintain
a balanced one with lots of vegetables
and fruits.
EHB: You are happily married!
How did you meet your wife?
EHB: You were one of only 3
Asian surgeons who sat on the
10-member Global Advisory
Board for Refractive Surgery,
Bausch & Lomb, and the Medical
Director and Senior Consultant of
Parkway Eye Centre. How did you
juggle work and family?
Dr Lee: It was really about time
management for me. Also, when I work,
I stay focused and do my best. When I
am home, I focus on my family. Spending
time with my family also helps me
concentrate better at work. I try to spend
my time meaningfully I enjoy playing with
my children.
EHB: What do you do during
your free time? Do you play any
sports?
Dr Lee: I jog once or twice a week,
some times with my wife. I used to play
badminton with my son once a week.
He’s now a school tennis player so I play
with him some times too. Once a week,
I’ll meet up with old friends for
badminton. When I was in Medical
School, I captained the NUS badminton
team. I remember we won an intervarsity game held in Hong Kong! I used
to play six different ball games for my
medical faculty; badminton, table tennis,
basketball, volleyball, hand ball and
billards. I’m better with my hands so
I’m no good in soccer! Well, sportsmen
and surgeons share many similarities.
Both professions require 4 Ps: passion,
perseverance, precision, professionalism.
Dr Lee: I met my wife in University
but I heard of her since secondary
school days because she was the top
‘O’ Level student then, with a score of
eight A1s in 1981. Then when I was in
Medical School, she was my classmate.
Of course, her intellect, beauty and
demeanor attracted me! So yes, she’s
my university sweetheart, wife and
best friend!
EHB: You have 4 kids! Do share
with us a few parenting tips.
Dr Lee: I think it is most important
to be a positive and not negative parent.
Always encourage, never discourage
your kids. Help build their selfconfidence, don’t nag at them, don’t
pick on the every nitty gritty thing they
do wrong. Also, I don’t cane them,
I don’t own any canes at home so I never
cane them. As parents, my wife
and I make an effort to spend
time with our children and
make them feel that I am
always there for them.
Dinner is one of the ways
we share quality time
over food. I encourage
my children to invite
their friends home so
I get to their friends
as well. Last but not
least, I believe in
frequent holidays.
You don’t have to
go very far away.
What matters most
is tobe able to spend
quality time bonding
and relaxing together.
We visited Korea last year and
recently picked up skiing as a
family in Hokkaido, Japan.
EHB: Complete this sentence, “If I
wasn’t a surgeon, I would be a/an..”
Dr Lee: Professional badminton player!