Page 4 - CUHK MEDICAL ALUMNI Newsletter Issue 2 Vol 4 2016

FEATURES
03

OUR TOYP AWARDEES

hey may have won the prestigious Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award…but these doctors are not
Tresting on their laurels.

EYE DOCTOR STRIVES TO

ENHANCE PATIENTS' LIVES WITH

INNOVATIONS AND CHARITY WORK

“You are never too young to take up charity work…you
need to know what’s going on within the community…”

- Dr Vincent Lee Yau-wing

（李佑榮醫生, MBChB 1993）

r Vincent Lee considers himself
D“extremely lucky” to have won
the Ten Outstanding Young Persons the Young Designer of the Year
Award in 2009. Award from the Hong Kong Trade
But this award is not the only one Development Council in 1986 and the after his cataract surgery. He said he
that has catapulted Dr Lee, an Young Scientist Award from Kowloon was so happy to be able to see again…
ophthalmologist, into the limelight. Jaycees a year earlier. like almost being reborn.
In 2013, he became the first alumnus Dr Lee graduated in 1993 and began “And he told me whenever he opened
of The Chinese University of Hong his training under his current boss, his eyes to see, he would remember
Kong (CUHK) to become president Dr Dennis Lam, then Chairman of me. That made me realise that I have
of the 60-year-old Hong Kong CUHK’s Department of Ophthalmology to give my 100 percent effort in every
Ophthalmological Society (HKOS)…a and Visual Sciences. He was awarded surgery I do.”
position he held until 2015. the Prince of Wales Public Appreciation
And, he became the first Hong Kong Award for seven years in a row. Dr Lee Community work is very close to
Dr Lee’s heart. He volunteers on
eye doctor to be granted US invention continued his specialist training at the ‘Lifeline Express’, a train that travels
patents, currently holding two for Hong Kong Eye Hospital. across mainland China to provide free
ophthalmic instruments for treating He now holds the position of regional cataract operations. He also served as
cataract and retinal detachment. He secretary and represents Hong a volunteer for Orbis - the Flying Eye
has also invented several surgical Kong in the Asia-Pacific Academy of Hospital - when it stopped over in Jinan
techniques for retinal surgery and Ophthalmology (APAO), and has been in Shandong province in 2014.
complicated cataract surgery. one of the coordinators of the APAO’s
Dr Lee was already an innovator Scientific Program Committee. His older daughter of 11 years was
recently in Vietnam doing volunteer
in his early school days, receiving Dr Lee has written over 70 publications, work for Orbis because she is
and is the Chief Editor of the newsletter, inspired by her father’s charity work.
HKOS (Eye Opener).
“You are never too young to take up
However, all Dr Lee’s lists of achievements charity work,” Dr Lee says. “All doctors
fade into the background when he is can contribute to society. You need
attending to patients. “For most of us eye to know what’s going on within the
doctors, cataract surgery is our bread and community and what its needs are.”
butter. We do it routinely,” he says.
Dr Lee fondly remembers his time
But something made him realise that as a medical student at CUHK’s New
what he treats as “routine” means Asia College. “What I learned from
something really important to his there is to be humble, down-to-earth
patients. “I was shocked when an and that you just need to learn to
elderly Chinese gentleman sent me a overcome difficulties. There’s no need
long stemmed rose, beautifully packed, to lead a life of luxury when young.”