Kar Hao Teoh: talented foot and ankle surgeon killed in South Africa

Kar Hao Teoh, who was killed in South Africa at the age of 40, was a triple board certified specialist in trauma and orthopaedic surgery and a rising star in the rapidly developing specialty of foot and ankle surgery.

In October 2018, Teoh, a British citizen originally from Singapore, was appointed consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust in Harlow, Essex, where in less than five years he made some phenomenal achievements. He specialised in foot and ankle surgery and was the first to use the Vantage total ankle replacement system in the UK. He quickly built a reputation for successful ankle replacements and was attracting referrals from other hospitals.

Teoh was passionate about research, writing or coauthoring 66 papers, and he enrolled the trust in a trial looking at whether weight bearing exercise shortly after surgery is safe in people with osteoporotic ankle fractures. His energy and determination ensured that Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust—a small district hospital—recruited more patients to the trial than any other …