Monthly Archives - December 2015

Dr Kevin Lee is calling out to all cyclists in Singapore to give their support to Cycle Out Poverty 2016. This meaningful charity ride seeks to raise $120,000 for Habitat for Humanity Singapore's StarBuilders programme. The StarBuilders programme gives youths from a disadvantaged background the opportunity to participate in overseas building project under the Global Village programme. These at-risk youths, and youths from a marginalised community, often lack the resources to fulfil their desire to give back to society. StarBuilders aims to provide such opportunities for these youths in empowering themselves and others. Dr Lee will be supporting Cycle Out Poverty 2016 as the Vice-President (Leisure Cycling) of Singapore Cycling Federation and will also be the Medical Coverage officer in charge. You can play your part in Cycle Out Poverty 2016 by registering or sponsoring for the event!

Dr Kevin Lee was back on Kiss92 FM to answer questions from the listeners. One of them consulted Dr Lee on his left ankle pain that got worse after an injury at a marathon. He could even feel some "cracking" when rotating the ankle. He wanted to know if the condition had deteriorated and needed surgery. Dr Lee replied that treatment would depend on what the original injury of the ankle pain was. From the listener's description, the injury is likely to be a torn ankle ligament, an ankle-cartilage injury or a stress fracture. Conservative treatment, such as physiotherapy and use of ankle support, will usually be first prescribed to treat a torn ankle ligament. Surgery is only needed for ligament tears that failed conservative treatment and also symptomatic cartilage injury.

Dr Kevin Lee addressed another Kiss92 FM listener's question on partial and total knee replacement surgeries. The listener wanted to know the differences between the two surgeries and if any of the surgery is required for his elderly father who suffers from knee pain over the past 5 years. Dr Lee explained that the human knee comprises of three compartments, with each compartment having their own cartilage and supporting structures. Partial knee replacement is performed only on one compartment of the knee that has worn-out cartilage, whilst total knee replacement is performed on two or three compartments. There are minimally invasive procedures for both types of knee replacement surgery. Knee replacement surgery is only considered when other conservative treatment options like weight loss, activity modification and physiotherapy are exhausted. The orthopaedic doctor will also have to do MRI scans and X-ray to assess if the patient requires any surgery.