Anaesthesiology Department

The Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care started functioning on June 1st 1965 with Dr A Ganendran as the head of the department. He was appointed as the first Professor of Anaesthesia in Malaysia. Professor Ganendran received his anaesthetic training in Liverpool under Professor T C Gray, a famous pioneer in modern anaesthesia and, in turn, many anaesthetic academic trainees from University Hospital trained at Liverpool. Amongst these trainees were Dr Liew Pak Shim and Associate Professor Peter Kam Chin Aik. Professor Ganendran was a cardiac anaesthetist with a special interest in intensive care and parenteral nutrition. He studied the clinical and biochemical aspects of malathion poisoning in patients admitted into the Intensive Care Unit, for which he gained an MD from Bristol University.

The University Hospital was the first hospital in Malaysia and Singapore to have Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN). The Intensive Care Unit The first Intensive Care Unit in Malaysia was set up on January 18th 1969 at the University Hospital with Professor Ganendran as its head. He pioneered the treatment of organophosphorus poisoning and the Intensive Care Unit became a centre of referral for organophosphorus poisoning and the Department, developing techniques of measuring serum and red blood cell cholinesterase. Professor A E Delilkan was appointed to the chair of Anaesthesia after Professor Ganendran emigrated to Australia. Professor Delilkan pioneered the treatment of cerebral protection in patients with head injury in the Intensive Care and campaigned tirelessly within the Faculty and among the public to promote understanding of Brain Death leading to its eventual acceptance in the community. Professor AE Delilkan retired in 2000 after many years of dedicated teaching. In recognition of his contribution the University of Malaya awarded Professor Delilkan the title of Professor of Excellence. Obstetric analgesia and anaesthesia and Pain management. The University Hospital established Malaysia’s first obstetric analgesia and anesthesia with epidural, spinal and general anesthesia in 1989 under Dr. Chan Yoo Kuen. The University Hospital established Malaysia’s first acute and chronic pain management service under Professor Delilkan and Professor Ramani Vijayan.

History of First 

First Professor of Anaesthesia in Malaysia (Professor Dr A Ganendran)

First hospital in Malaysia and Singapore to have total parenteral nutrition 

First Intensive Care Unit in Malaysia, which started on the 18th of January 1969 under Prof. Dr Ganendran, the department pioneered the treatment of organophosphorus poisoning (centre of referral for organophosphorus poisoning). He led the team to develop techniques to measure serum and red blood cell cholinesterase.

First acute and chronic pain management service in Malaysia under Professor Emeritus Dr Alex E Dellikan and Professor Dr Ramani Vijayan

First obstetric analgesia and anesthesia with epidural, spinal and general anesthesia in Malaysia under Professor Dr Chan Yoo Kuen (1989).

Undergraduate Programme:

The UMMP programme spans over 5-years and is a pathway for budding undergraduates to obtain the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.
The Department of Anaesthesiology contributes to the programme at Stage 1, Stage 2, as well as Stage 3.2 (Stage 3 is divided to Stages 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3). Stages 1 and 2 are the foundation stages in which the student is expected to work through system blocks that cover all body systems, ranging from basic sciences and clinical perspectives, with an emphasis on understanding the scientific foundations of clinical reasoning and clinical practice. Stage 3 in its entirety would lay the framework to cover all aspects of clinical medicine, and it is at this stage of the programme that the Department of Anaesthesiology plays a bigger role in training future doctors with a strong grasp of basic skills and knowledge required to deal with the ill person who presents acutely.

Stage 3.2 – Acute Care Posting (Anaesthesiology and Critical Care)
Our clinicians would supervise the student in at least 4 of the clinical areas with the aims of exposing these students to a variety of scenarios, ranging from the perioperative preparation for a patient undergoing surgery to the handling of critically ill patients. In addition to that, the students would have the opportunity to learn practical procedures such as basic airway management and skills for obtaining venous access, whilst applying previously learnt pharmacology and physiology principles that would have been taught in Stages 1 & 2.

It goes without saying that when a student reports to the Department of Anaesthesiology, one of the core skill and knowledge that would be imparted to them would be the basics of resuscitation principles, but with an added focus on learning on how to manage people with complex medical problems, often spanning multiple body systems. To further reflect the efficacy of our discipline within the medical fraternity, a holistic approach to the patient is enforced, considering patient safety as the most important core value that is to be instilled in the student.

Parallel to the clinical training of the student during this posting would be the development of professionalism, in which the student would be exposed to areas of management which includes the delicate handling of the patient’s next-of-kin, especially within the critical care areas where these patients are often in a calamitous situation.

By the end of the posting, it is hoped that the student would have gained a good insight to what anaesthesiology and critical care discipline really is, and be more enlightened on what is expected of a junior house officer and their role in managing an acutely ill patient as well as patients presenting for surgery. Recognition of one’s limitations is also key and the accessibility to call for help would be ingrained in the student as part and parcel of their training. The student’s time spent with the Department of Anaesthesiology promises to be an engaging and fruitful training, as the opportunity for experience and learning is most definitely abundant and will be nothing short of rewarding.

Postgraduate Programme:

The Master of Anaesthesiology degree course was first introduced by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Malaya in June 1987. Over the years this course has produced many brilliant anaesthesiologists and its training included both local and international applicants.

The programme is offered as a four-year course, which includes specialist training in anaesthesia, pain medicine, advanced resuscitation as well as intensive care. In addition to that, trainees are exposed to research methodologies and cultures which encourages a prolific and inquisitive learning environment.

Following completion of the programme, the clinician is eligible to be registered as a full Anaesthesiologist in the National Specialist Register (NSR) in Malaysia. The Department of Anaesthesiology, University of Malaya is one of the accredited training institutions for the Anaesthesiology Training Programme by the Malaysian Conjoint Examination Board for Postgraduate Medicine and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA). The clinician who has fulfilled all training requirements is also entitled to become a member of the Malaysian Society of Anaesthesiologists (MSA).

Master of Anaesthesiology (MAnaes)