Assoc Prof John Yuen Shyi Peng | Singapore General Hospital

Assoc Prof John Yuen Shyi Peng
Head & Senior Consultant
Department of Urology
Singapore General Hospital

Associate Professor Yuen is currently the Head of Department of Urology, Singapore General Hospital. After obtaining his basic and post-graduate medical degrees from the University of Melbourne, and National University of Singapore respectively, he went on to pursue a PhD degree (Molecular Oncology, DPhil 2007) in 2004 at the University of Oxford where he focused his research on new molecular targets for advanced kidney cancers.

His clinical interest has been in robotic and laparoscopic uro-oncologic surgery. He is a coinventor of the Biobot Surgical® prostate biopsy robot, which is currently the state-of-the-art robotic transperineal MRI-targeted prostate biopsy technique used in many countries. He received international recognition in the fields of early prostate cancer diagnosis and minimally-invasive surgical techniques for his pioneered advanced robotic surgical techniques which were published in peer-review journals.

Dr Yuen continues to be actively involved in urological translational research. He leads a research group focussing on basic research on novel molecular treatment for kidney cancer. He published widely in high-impact basic research and clinical urological journals. He is also actively involved in undergraduate and postgraduate education and holds teaching appointments with the Duke-NUS Medical School and Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore.

Session:

Symposium 5
Surgical
18 April 2026, 1030 - 1200, NAK Auditorium, Academia

Presenting Title:

An Outcome-centric Surgical Innovation Journey in Robotic Radical Prostatectomy: More or Less
Robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RLRP) has evolved significantly over the past two decades, driven not only by technological advancement but also by continuous refinement of surgical technique. This talk shares a personal journey of surgical innovation guided by a single principle: improving patient outcomes. The objective is to demonstrate how thoughtful technical evolution can enable a major pelvic operation to be performed safely, efficiently, in an oncologically sound manner, cost-effectively, and increasingly as a day-surgery procedure for most patients.

The philosophy of “more or less” underpins this journey - achieving less postoperative pain, blood loss, hospital stay, complications, cost, and positive surgical margins, while delivering more rapid functional recovery (continence and erectile function), improved patient well-being post-operatively, and durable oncological control.

This talk highlights a personal surgical innovation journey dotted with several road signs along the way, each representing a milestone in this evolution. These include TEP (Total Extra-Peritoneal approach), ATLAS (Adjustable Tension Ligation with Anterior Suspension), SPARTAN (Sandwiched Posterior-Anterior Reconstructed Tissue-Glued Anastomosis), CASPAN (Clipless Athermal Suture-Ligation of Pedicle and Antegrade Nerve-Sparing), the transition to AS (Ambulatory Surgery) and AXS (Ambulatory Surgery with Extended Recovery), as well as the LAPE Pouch technique. Together, these innovations illustrate how iterative problem-solving can translate into meaningful clinical gains.

Ultimately, surgical technique innovation must complement advances in robotic platforms to realise the central goal of modern surgery: achieving more favourable outcomes while lessening the negative effects of surgical intervention.

Return to Speakers >