The Team

Dr. Prem Pillay

MBBS (Singapore), FRCS (Edinburgh, UK), FAMS (Neurosurgery),
FRCS Canada (Neurosurgery), FACS (USA)

30 YEARS OF SPECIALIST SPINE EXPERIENCE FOR NECK AND BACK PAIN
USA, CANADA, UK, SINGAPORE

Senior Spine Specialist
Neuro Spine & Pain Center, Mt. Elizabeth, Singapore
Advanced Spine Center, Mt. Elizabeth Novena, Singapore

• Director of Spine & Pain Services at Neuro Spine & Pain Center, Singapore
• Senior Spine Specialist at the Advanced Spine Center, Mt. Elizabeth Novena Medical Center
• He has more than 30 years of experience in treating spine conditions
• He is an Expert in Minimally Invasive Spine Microsurgery, Robotics, Endoscopy and Computer Image Guided Spine Surgery
• He is an Expert in No Surgery [Open] Procedures for Spine Conditions including Discoplasty and Spine Radiosurgery

SYNOPSIS: Dr. Prem Pillay

Dr. Prem Pillay, is a Singapore born Singaporean who is a Senior Consultant Singapore Specialist Neurosurgeon (Neuro+Spine) who previously worked for many years at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital in the USA (ranked as one of the top Hospitals in the USA and the world) where he became Chief Resident Neurosurgeon and won the Lower Award and then the Pudenz Award for his research. He was mentored by top neurosurgeons at the Cleveland Clinic USA; including Dr. Joseph Hahn, Dr. John Little (an expert on difficult spine surgery), Prof Issam Awad, Prof Russell Hardy (a Lumbar Spine expert who wrote a textbook on the Lumbar Spine) and Dr. Ian Kalfas (a world spine expert on Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Image Guided Spine Surgery). He was also mentored and trained in Needle procedures for the spine including Percutaneous Disc Decompression by Prof Joe Maroon [University of Pittsburgh Medical Center,USA]. Dr Prem Pillay is now a Senior Spine Specialist at the Neuro Spine & Pain Center at Mt. Elizabeth Medical Center and Hospital and at the Advanced Spine Center at Mt. Elizabeth Novena Medical Center and Hospital in Singapore.

He is an award winning and pioneering Neurosurgeon in the areas of less invasive Spine treatments/surgery. He is an old boy of Anglo-Chinese School where he was a top student and a recipient of the Seow Poh Leng Medal. He is a graduate of the National University of Singapore Medical School (ranked as the best medical school in Asia and top 20 in the world) where he was awarded the Singapore Medical Association medal for being one of the top students in his graduating class. He has served as a Military Doctor during National Service and was a Senior Surgeon at a Combat hospital during his reservist period. He was also the Head of the Department of Neurosurgery and Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon at the Singapore General Hospital and involved in the teaching and training of medical students, young doctors and Neurosurgical trainee doctors. He has introduced many new technologies and techniques in Neurosurgery to Singapore and the Region (SEA and South Asia) including computer aided/Image guided surgery; 3D Microsurgery, Radiosurgery , Neuro Endoscopy , Robotics and Pain treatments. He was awarded the Mahaley Award for innovative work in Endoscopic surgery. He has served on the Spine committee of the World Federation of Neurological Surgeons (WFNS). He has presented, published and taught at about 100 International/Local Meetings, Workshops, Journals, Abstracts, Textbooks and public talks. He remains committed to providing the best Spine practices of the best Spine Surgeons and best Spine Doctors of the world to his patients.

Training & Subspeciality Training

• Neurosurgery Residency Training (Neuro+Spine), Cleveland Clinic, USA.
• Chief Resident, Neurosurgery (Neuro+Spine), Cleveland Clinic, USA.
• Fellowship in Adult and Pediatric Neurosurgical Oncology (Neuro+Spine), MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA.
• Fellowship in Pediatric Neurosurgery (Neuro+Spine), Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.

Awards

• Singapore Medical Association Medal.
• Howard Eddie Gold Medal, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
• Pudenz Award, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, USA.
• William E. Lower Award, First Prize, Cleveland Clinic, USA.
• Neurosurgeons Fellowship Award , USA.
• Mahaley Clinic Research Award by American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons Tumor Section, USA.

Membership In Professional Organizations

• Member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS): Spine & Peripheral Nerve Section and Pain Section.
• Member of the Congress of Neurological Surgery (CNS): Spine & Peripheral Nerve Section and Pain Section.
• Founding Member and 1st Chairman of the Asian Society of Stereotactic, Functional & Computer-assisted Neurosurgery (Neuro+Spine).
• Member Society of Neuro-Oncology.
• Fellow of the International College of Surgeons.
• Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
• Member of the Minimally Invasive Spine Society.
• Member Spine Arthoplasty Society.
• Member of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery.

Previous Appointments

• Chief Resident, Neurosurgery, Cleveland Clinic Foundation Hospital, USA.
• Fellow Department of Neurosurgery, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, USA.
• Fellow Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital for Sick Children,Toronto, Canada.
• Head, Department of Neurosurgery, Singapore General Hospital.
• Lecturer in Surgery, National University of Singapore.

Interest & Hobbies

He has been travelling to hospitals in the region to carry out free surgeries and treatments to the poor and underprivileged in our part of Asia, and train the local doctors.  He is involved in providing medical advise for charitable organisations. He is active in swimming, cycling, trekking and table-tennis and encourages his patients to remain fit and active.

Practice Focus

Dr. Prem Pillay is an expert in Minimally Invasive Spine surgery and non-surgical methods for a comprehensive range of spine disorders including spine injury, back injury, neck injury, spine fractures, spine stenosis, spine spondylosis, spine spondylolisthesis, spine scoliosis, spine disc injury, spine slipped disc, spine disc herniation, disc protrusion and disc bulges; spinal cord injury, spine nerve root injury, spine cauda equina syndrome and spine tumors. He treats a variety of spine disorders that cause back pain, neck pain, sciatica and limb weakness; using both minimally invasive spine surgery as well as advanced spine injections. He coordinates multidisciplinary advance spine care for his patients with physiotherapists and others as the lead/principle Spine doctor.

Further information can be found at: singaporespine.org