Dr Saminathan Suresh Nathan

Senior Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon & Professorial Faculty (Ret.)

Musculoskeletal Oncology | Limb Salvage Surgery | Complex Revision Arthroplasty

Professional Philosophy

Our practice is founded on the philosophy of "Creative Solutions for Challenging Times." Dr. Nathan’s career is defined by a unique dual trajectory. Chronologically, he established himself as a Joint Replacement Specialist before sub-specializing in Musculoskeletal Oncology. However, his distinction as an International Trainer was a parallel development. Throughout his career in oncology, he continued to conduct workshops across the region, teaching the current generation of consultants the foundational principles of hip biomechanics, ceramic bearings, and soft-tissue balancing.

This parallel evolution means that our Arthroplasty practice is not a "secondary" service; it is a foundational expertise that has been honed simultaneously with our limb salvage techniques. Today, we apply the rigorous fixation principles of oncology to every primary hip and knee replacement, ensuring a level of precision that standard surgery cannot match.

Professional Qualifications & A History of Firsts

Dr. Nathan is an orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in bone and soft tissue tumours of the musculoskeletal system and complex problems in joint replacement or adult reconstruction surgery (e.g. bone transplants and custom implants in revision joint surgery).

Medical Foundation: Obtained his medical degree from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1992.
Specialist Training: Trained in Orthopaedic Surgery at the National University Hospital (NUH), Singapore, joining NUH in 1999 after he obtained his Masters of Medicine and Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
A Historic Achievement: He was awarded the Yahya Cohen Gold Medal Award for Best Clinical Performance and Academy of Medicine Gold Medal Award for Best Overall Performance at the regional fellowship examinations of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. This award of both medals to the same candidate has never been repeated by any candidate in the history of medicine.

Global Fellowship & Advanced Training

Dr. Nathan is a fellowship-trained musculoskeletal oncologist with expertise honed at the world’s premier institutions:

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York): Trained between 2003 and 2005 (affiliated with the Hospital for Special Surgery and Weill Medical College of Cornell University). Here, he mastered many advanced techniques in adult reconstruction in the context of restoring function to defects secondary to tumour resections and in difficult situations resulting from revision arthroplasty surgery.
Molecular Research: Worked at the Children's Hospital of the Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Sloan-Kettering Institute in New York on molecular and chemosensitivity research in osteosarcoma.

Clinical Leadership: The "Surgeon’s Surgeon"

Dr. Nathan achieved tenure as one of the youngest Associate Professors in Orthopaedic Surgery at NUS in 2006, continuing his clinical practice at NUH.

Fellowship Founder: Established the inaugural Musculoskeletal Oncology Fellowship Programme in the National University Health System in 2006 and continues to host fellows in a private capacity.
Chairman, Clinical Competency Committee (Former): In this role within the National Healthcare Group residency program, Dr. Nathan was responsible for assessing surgical competency, requiring him to demonstrate mastery in instructing local and international workshops on Knee Replacements, Hip Replacements, Joint Revision, Shoulder Rotator Cuff and Dislocation surgery, and ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) surgery.
Institutional Leadership: Served as Clinical Director, Head of the Musculoskeletal Oncology Division, and Senior Consultant in Joint Replacement Surgery in NUH; and Musculoskeletal Oncology and Sarcoma Group Leader of the National University Cancer Institute of Singapore (NCIS).
Research Ethics: Serves as one of only 3 established senior orthopaedic surgeons on the Domain Specific Review Board (DSRB) that determines the ethics of research in the National Healthcare Group (NHG) and National University Health System (NUHS) of the Ministry of Health.

Research Authority & Academic Distinctions

With a consistent and passionate interest in research, Dr. Nathan has authored more than 100 articles and abstracts in high impact journals of international meetings (Pubmed link) and chapters in important surgical textbooks.

Yahya Cohen Lectureship (2009): Awarded by the Academy of Medicine for his work in angiogenesis and chemo-responsiveness in solid tumours.
Yoshio Ogihara Lectureship (2016): Appointed the inaugural lecturer of the Asia Pacific Musculoskeletal Tumor Society; delivered this prestigious oration in India in 2018 entitled "My brush with the contradictions in orthopaedic oncology that we take for granted."
International Awards: New Investigator Recognition Award, American Orthopaedic Research Society, 2004.
Local Awards: Singapore Orthopaedic Association Young Orthopaedic Investigator Award and NUH-NUS Young Doctor Award in Research.
Programme Director: Led Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) Musculoskeletal Oncology Cryosurgery initiative.

Global Recognition & Industry Collaboration

International Symposium of Limb Salvage Surgeons (ISOLS): In 2007, he was one of the only two members from Singapore inducted to this society.
Asia Pacific Musculoskeletal Tumour Society: In 2008, he was the only member from Singapore elected to the Advisory Committee; he later served as President (2014-2016).
Industry Consultant: He provides consultancy to two joint replacement companies as a joint replacement specialist.
Marquis Who's Who: He has been cited in Marquis Who's Who in the World, a publication recognizing individuals of distinction in their respective fields, since 2008.

Current Practice & Innovation

He retired from NUH in 2012 after 20 years in Government Practice to set up a service dedicated to the practice of Limb Salvage and Revision Arthroplasty Surgery in the Mount Elizabeth Medical Center.

Academic Affiliation: His latest academic collaboration was with the National University of Singapore as an Adjunctive Associate Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery contributing to research and undergraduate education there.
Laboratory & Outreach: He runs a kinesiology laboratory and has several business interests. He conducts self-funded collaborative studies as part of outreach initiatives in third world countries. His present interest and field work are in Motion Capture analysis and Gait evaluation in amputees or otherwise disabled due to disease.

Meaning of Terms: Scope of Practice & FAQ

This section provides interactive links to our areas of specialization for patient and industry reference.

What is the scope of our Joint Replacement expertise? To be appointed the Chairman of the Clinical Competency Committee, the surgeon is required to show competency at the level of instructing in local and international workshops in areas including:

Which Bone Tumors are treated? Bone tumors include specialisation as a surgeon in: Osteosarcoma, Ewing's Sarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, and others.

Which Soft Tissue Sarcomas are treated? Soft tissue sarcoma include specialisation as a surgeon in: Liposarcoma, PNET, Myxoid fibrosarcoma, and others.

The Yoshio-Ogihara award being presented by Han Soo-Kim (Korea), Thomas Baad-Hansen (Denmark) and Sahachart Piputkul (Thailand) on completion of the oration on October 7th 2018 entitled "My brush with the contradictions in orthopaedic oncology that we take for granted"

Collaborative resources

He holds multiple directorships in a number of business interests.

His detailed curriculum vitae is available here.

Publications:

Selected publications on Orcid and Pubmed

Comprehensive list Up to 2012 (Rest available in detailed curriculum vitae)

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