Getting to Know Dr Tan Ko Beng Julian

My decision to enter a career in medicine was influenced by seeing my paediatrician father tend to sick children at odd hours of the night. 

Cardiology has always been my favorite specialty, as the heart is not only the most important organ of the body (without it working well, all other organs won’t either), but it is such a fascinating piece of (divine) engineering.

I am like a ‘plumber’, or an interventional cardiologist. That means I unclog blocked pipes – blocked heart arteries in this case – using minimally invasive catheter-based methods (no need for open heart operations).

I have a keen interest in ‘unclogging’ completely blocked heart arteries in a condition known as chronic total occlusion. 

It used to be that chronic total occlusions (CTO), ie. completely blocked arteries, could only be treated using open heart bypass surgery. But with the advent of new percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) technology and the training of CTO operators like myself, these CTOs can now be treated using non-surgical means.

Persistence and patience is key, as some CTO interventions can take more than 3 hours to perform successfully. The longest time I spent on a CTO case was 7 hours!

In my line of work as an interventional cardiologist, I deal with emergency, often after-hours, coronary angioplasty for ST-elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMI), commonly known as heart attacks. This is literally a life-saving procedure that has to be done in the quickest time.

The saddest part of my job for me is the thought of not being able to save a person from death from STEMI, especially if the person is in their prime and with young children. The most fulfilling part of my job is giving such a patient a new lease of life with a successful coronary intervention.

I believe that it is crucial for a patient to have ownership of their health. We, as doctors, can only do so much in providing treatment and advice. If you truly want good health, then you should lead a healthy lifestyle and exercise, exercise, exercise!