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Dr Nicolas Kon Kam King

Neurosurgeon and Medical Director

MBChB PhD DIC MRCS FRCS FAMS

Dr Nicolas Kon is a neurosurgeon in Singapore who specialises in neurological conditions. His patient-centered clinical approach has successfully helped many patients to deal with trigeminal neuralgia. With over 20 years of experience, he provides a range of treatment for trigeminal neuralgia including medical and surgical options to treat the severe pain.

Types of treatment for trigeminal neuralgia in Singapore offered by Dr Kon:

Medication is the first-line treatment for trigeminal neuralgia. The best medication for treating trigeminal neuralgia is carbamazepine.
Gamma knife radiosurgery is a non-invasive and effective treatment for trigeminal neuralgia.
Radiofrequency ablation is a minimally invasive and effective treatment for trigeminal neuralgia.
Microvascular decompression surgery is the best treatment among all treatment options for trigeminal neuralgia.
Dr Nicolas Kon is an esteemed neurosurgeon in Singapore and specialises in treating trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm.

Clinical experience in UK, Canada and Singapore

Dr Nicolas Kon graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) from the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. He obtained his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Neuroscience from the Imperial College London, United Kingdom. He completed his basic and advanced postgraduate surgical training in some of the best neurosurgery, neurology and neurocritical care centres in the UK at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, Charing Cross Hospital, London, and Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, and at National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore.

Dr Kon was awarded the prestigious Health Manpower Development Plan scholarship by the Ministry of Health and completed his advanced neurosurgery fellowship at the Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada. While in Toronto, he worked with the world-leading and pioneer functional neurosurgeon. In that time, he also worked on developing techniques in deep brain stimulation for Parkinson disease and epilepsy. These techniques have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Upon his return to Singapore, Dr Kon co-founded the first NNI Centre for Deep Brain Stimulation in Singapore.

Dr Kon spent more than a decade in public service in Singapore before moving to private practice. Prior to this, he was a consultant neurosurgeon at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) and a visiting consultant at the National Cancer Centre, Singapore.

Focus on delivering patient-centered care

Dr Kon's expertise is in selecting and providing the most effective treatment that is patient-centered and is not always surgical. He is experienced in using contemporary surgical technology with the aim to make surgery safe and effective. These include the use of advanced imaging methods, monitoring of brain function during surgery as well as awake brain mapping.

 

Dr Kon believes that minimally invasive methods makes surgery safer and speeds up recovery. As such, he is the first neurosurgeon in Asia to introduce the use of minimally invasive neurosurgery using the Brainpath MIPS approach. He has dedicated his time to proctor many surgeons in Asia and Europe to practice this minimally invasive technique. Dr Kon is an advocate of evidence-based practice and uses treatment and medications that are supported by clinical data and practice guidelines.

Clinical interests and sub-specialisation

  • Microvascular decompression surgery for trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm

  • Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson disease, tremor, dystonia and epilepsy

  • Neuro-oncology for brain tumour and awake brain surgery for glioma

  • Minimally invasive brain surgery for brain tumour, brain haemorrhage, and stroke

  • Functional neurosurgery for spasticity, spinal cord stimulation and vagal nerve stimulation

Research and awards

Dr Kon is prolific in scientific research and has been actively involved in research to further the field of neurosurgery. He has authored more than 90 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and hold several patents. See his list of publications here. He has been the principal investigator of many randomized controlled clinical trials and the recipient of national and international research grants. He also serves on the ethics board of the SingHealth Centralised Institutional Review Board. During his time in public service, served as the Director of Neurosurgery Research at the National Neuroscience Institute, Co-Chair of NTU-NNI Neurotechnology Fellowship program and Director of Centre of Neurotechnological Innovation. 

He has a longstanding commitment to the field of neurosurgery and has received a long service award from the National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore for his contributions. He also received an Outstanding Faculty Award for the training of neurosurgery residents. In addition, Dr Kon has a strong passion towards patient care and has been awarded several Service with A Heart awards by the Singapore General Hospital.

DR NICOLAS KON

Credentials

  • MBChB, Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom

  • PhD, Doctor of Philosophy, Imperial College London, United Kingdom

  • DIC, Diploma of Imperial College, Imperial College London, United Kingdom

  • MRCS, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England

  • FRCS, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

  • FAMS, Fellow of the Academy of Medicine of Singapore

Specialist fellowship

  • Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada

Academic appointment

  • Adjunct Associate Professor, National University of Singapore

Awards

  • Nathalie Rose Barr PhD award, Imperial College London

  • Multiple best research poster awards at local and international conferences

  • Health Manpower Development Programme (HMDP) fellowship

  • Outstanding Faculty Award, Residency in Singhealth (RiSE) Award

  • Service With A Heart Awards, Singapore General Hospital

  • Long Service Award, National Neuroscience Institute and SingHealth

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