Dr Euan Murugasu
MBBS (Singapore), FRCS (Edinburgh),
FRCS (England) PhD (United Kingdom)
FAMS (Otorhinolaryngology)
Dr Euan Murugasu completed his medical training under the Presidents Scholarship and graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1986. After completion of his National Service in HQ Medical Services, Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), he entered the post-graduate training programme in ENT surgery at the National University Hospital (NUH).
Dr Murugasu was then posted overseas to the United Kingdom, where he obtained both ENT Surgical Fellowships, from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1992. Under the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship, he then completed his Doctoral thesis and was awarded a PhD in Auditory Physiology and Molecular Biology at the University of Sussex, UK in 1997, winning several prestigious awards including the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) IONOS Registrars medal, and the Gold Medal at the 9th British Academic Conference in Otolarnygology (BACO) in Manchester, UK. His inner ear reseach work was also nominated for the Politzer Prize in Zurich, Switzerland in 1999.
Upon his return to Singapore, he was appointed as a Senior Lecturer at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and became a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore in 1999, being duly entered into the Academy’s Roll of Specialists and awarded Certificates of Specialist Registration in Otolarnygology (ENT) by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Singapore Medical Council (SMC).
Dr Murugasu was then sent for his sub-specialty training in Otology and Neurotology on a Ministry of Health (MOH) HMDP Scholarship to train under Professor Richard Ramsden at the University of Manchester, UK, followed by clinical attachments at the House Ear Clinic, Los Angeles, USA, the University College of San Franscisco, USA, and the California Ear Institute, Stanford University, USA.
His practice constitutes General ENT surgery, both adult and paediatric cases including sino-nasal surgery eg Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery, Septoplasty, Sinuplasty, Rhinoplasty, Turbinoplasty; ear surgery eg Myringoplasty, Tympanoplasty, Stapedectomy and Ossicular Reconstruction, Myringotomy and Grommet’s tube insertion, and mastoid surgery for chronic middle ear disease; throat surgery eg adeno-tonsillectomy, palatoplasty, uvulo-palato-pharyngoplasty (UPPP), pillar implant for snoring and sleep apnoea, and Endoscopic Laryngeal Microsurgery including laser phonosurgery.
Dr Murugasu’s sub-specialty interest is in Otology and Neurotology (which deals with Hearing Loss and Balance Disorders). This includes implantable hearing aids eg the Vibrant Soundbridge, bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHAs) and cochlear implants (CIs), as well as specialized surgery for balance disorders and tumour sugery eg Acoustic Neuromas. Under Professor Ramsden, he was also trained in the area of Auditory Brainstem Implants (ABI) where the electrodes stimulate the cochlear nucleus directly.
Dr Murugasu was the Organising Chairman for the First cochlear implant symposium organized by Mount Elizabeth Hospital and the Let Them Hear Foundation (LTHF), USA in 2006. This programme helped to increase awareness of hearing loss amongst health professionals and the public. It also served to bring the benefits of cochlear implantation to paediatric patients from less developed countries in South East Asia who would otherwise not have been able to afford such costly technology. The beneficiaries of this Outreach Project are all doing very well with their cochlear implant devices, and progressing well in their home countries.