Dr Anil D Rao obtained his MBBS and Masters from the University of Bombay before completing his FRCS Ed in Surgery. He then completed a Master of Medicine (MMed, Surgery) from the National University of Singapore and his Advanced Surgical Training in Singapore, exiting as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh) in 2014. He was granted Specialist Accreditation in General Surgery by the Ministry of Health, Singapore in the same year.

He has subspecialty interests in Endocrine Surgery and abdominal wall hernia surgery, with a passion for minimally invasive surgery. He was awarded the Ministry of Health – Health Manpower Development Plan (HMDP) Award in 2014 to further his training in endoscopic and minimal access thyroid surgery at the National Hospital of Endocrinology in Hanoi, Vietnam, under international experts including Professor Tran Ngoc Luong.

Dr Rao has extensive experience in minimally invasive hernia surgery techniques, with special focus on value-driven, cost-effective outcomes, cosmesis and faster recovery associated with minimal pain after hernia operations. He has significant experience operating on complicated large abdominal wall hernias with multiple recurrences. He also takes keen interest in other advanced minimally invasive surgeries, including Endoscopic Thyroidectomy and keyhole approaches to adrenal surgery, and has one of the highest volumes of minimal access surgical procedures in Singapore. As a General Surgeon, he maintains active involvement in Emergency Surgery and Trauma, alongside emergency endoscopy and ambulatory care surgery.

Dr Rao is a member of the Asia Pacific Hernia Society (APHS). He has been an invited speaker at international conferences to share his expertise in hernia surgery and was one of the pioneer publishers of results in minimal access thyroid and parathyroid surgery in Singapore.

Passionate about medical education, Dr Rao is currently an undergraduate teaching lead and Senior Clinical Lecturer at both the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. He serves as a mentor for Year 4 National University of Singapore students and is actively involved in teaching and training surgical residents under the NHG Health Surgical Residency Programme.

An avid researcher, Dr Rao has published on postoperative pain control after keyhole hernia surgeries and has over 20 international publications to his name.

Research Interest

Clinical Research in General and Endocrine Surgery

Publications

Rao AD, Tan BC Daryl, Singaporewalla RM. Laparoscopic Appendectomy Translates into Less Analgesics and Faster Return to Work in Asia. JSLS 2022 Apr-June; 26(2): e2022.00006.doi: 10.4293/JSLS.2022.00006

Rao AD, Singaporewalla RM, Lee JY. Correlation of Radiological and Pathological Sizes of Adrenal Masses. Is a Correction Formula Required. World J Endoc Surgery 2004;https//doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10002-1468