Chu Phua MBChB, MRCS, DOHNS, FRCS, MMed

Dr. Chu Qin Phua is a fellowship-trained sleep surgeon and Director of Sleep Surgery at the Dept of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Sengkang General Hospital. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh and completed her Otolaryngology Residency Training in Singapore. She obtained further professional qualification of Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) in Otolaryngology with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Phua has a distinct interest in the subspecialty of Sleep Medicine and Surgery, which spurred her to complete a Sleep Surgery fellowship under Professor Toh Song Tar at Singhealth Duke-NUS Sleep Centre in 2019. She also underwent further fellowship training in Craniofacial Surgery for Sleep Apnea at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan with Professor Clement Lin, after being awarded the Health Manpower Development Plan (HMDP) grant by the Singapore Ministry of Health. She seeks to alleviate symptoms associated with obstructive sleep apnea and to reduce its associated adverse sequelae. She is in constant pursuit of helping patients improve their sleep-related quality of life. This has led her to update her skillsets in obtaining further training for Da Vinci Transoral Robotic Surgery in 2018 and Hypoglossal nerve implant surgery training in 2023, in order to provide more comprehensive care and additional treatment options for patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Phua also led the SKH Sleep unit in an innovative effort to provide easier and cheaper access to myofunctional therapy exercises, by creating a Tele-myofunctional therapy exercise app. This free app is incorporated into the Singhealth official Health Buddy app to enable easy access for patients to perform the therapy at home using the guided exercise videos on the app, so to improve their snoring. She has received the Singhealth FY2023 Innovation Seed Grant to incorporate Artificial Intelligence software to help automate myofunctional therapy monitoring and feedback for sleep apnea patients.

Dr Phua has immense enthusiasm for patient and junior doctor’s education. She believes in empowering patients by enhancing their understanding of their own conditions and equipping patients with strategies to manage their conditions. She is passionate about helping medical students and residents develop their potential. She was awarded the NHG-NUS Medicine Junior Doctor Teaching Award in 2016 as a recognition of her accomplishments in undergraduate education. She also published the ‘Residency Interview Handbook’ that aims to help medical students and junior doctors navigate their careers into Residency training. She also recently received the best clinical tutor ward in 2024, as voted by ENT residents.