About Dr Christopher Liu
Dr Christopher Liu is a Pain Physician with over 20 years of experience in diagnosing and treating complex pain disorders, with particular expertise in musculoskeletal and spine pain, headaches and facial pain, and neuropathic (nerve) pain.
His clinical practice focuses on careful clinical assessment and accurate diagnosis, the appropriate use of interventional pain procedures, and evidence-based therapies to relieve pain, restore function and improve quality of life.
With training and clinical experience at Singapore General Hospital and University Health Network in Toronto, including Toronto Western Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital, Women's College Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital, Dr Liu brings broad international experience to the personalised management of pain, with particular expertise in interventional approaches to complex pain conditions.
Education
2008 - BSc, MBBS(Hon), UNSW Sydney
2013 - MMED (Anesthesia), NUS Singapore
2017 - Fellowship in Pain Medicine (Interventional), University of Toronto, Canada
2023 - Fellowship of the Academy of Medicine, College of Anesthesia (Pain Chapter) Singapore
Activity & Honours
Director, Acute Pain Service, SGH
Senior Consultant, Department of Pain Medicine, Singapore General Hospital
Member, SGH Medical Board
Department Lead, Value Driven Care
Chief Fellow, University Health Network (Toronto)
Asst Professor, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School
Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, NUS
Asst Professor, Faculty of Medicine, LKC School of Medicine, NTU
Editor, BJA Education (Pain Section)
Awards
American Society for Regional Anesthesia Scholarship 2018 (Neuromodulation)
Productivity Award in Research 2018, SGH DIVA
Productivity Award in Research 2019, SGH DIVA
High Impact Research Publication Achievement 2018, SGH DIVA
1st Singhealth Transplant Debate 2018 (Winning team)
Long Service Award (10 years), 2020
Service with a Heart Award, 2020
Singapore Health Quality Service Award (Best Team Award) 2021
Singapore Health Quality Service Award (Star award) 2022
COVID-19 Resilience Medal 2023
Conditions We Treat
Musculoskeletal Pain (Back, Neck, Shoulder, Hip, Knee Pain)
Nerve pain
Headaches and Facial Pain Disorders
Joint Pain & Arthritis-related pain
Cancer-related pain
Selected Publications & Book Chapters
Selected Publications
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Unravelling the Genetic Link: An Umbrella Review on HLA-B∗15:02 and Anti-Epileptic Drug-induced Stevens–Johnson Syndrome / Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. Pharmacogenetics and Genomics 2024
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Prescribing Patterns and Misuse of Tramadol: A Pilot Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study in Singapore. Annal of the Academy of Medicine Singapore 2024
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Anatomical Insights into Injectate Spread after Thoracic Erector Spinae Plane Block: A Systematic Review. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia 2024.
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Neurostimulation for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review of High-Quality Randomized Controlled Trials with Long-Term Follow-Up. Neuromodulation 2023
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Images in Anesthesiology - Severe Achalasia Could Present With Subtle Symptoms. Anesthesiology 2023
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Pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block for early pain management of elderly patients with hip fracture: a single-center double-blind randomized controlled trial. Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 2023
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Chronic headaches related to post-dural puncture headaches: a scoping review. British Journal of Anaesthesia 2022
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Effects of regional anaesthesia on mortality in patients undergoing lower extremity amputation: A retrospective pooled analysis. Indian Journal of Anaesthesia 2022
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Interventional therapies for management of hip fracture pain peri-operatively: A review article. Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare 2022
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Novel approach to pericapsular radiofrequency ablation of sacrococcygeal junction for patients with coccygodynia. Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 2022
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Chronic disabling postpartum headache after unintentional dural puncture during epidural anaesthesia: a prospective cohort study. Comment on Br J Anaesth 2021. BJA 2021
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Efficacy of erector spinae plane block for analgesia in breast surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Anaesthesia 2020
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A Reply to “Sphenopalatine ganglion block for the treatment of postdural puncture headache: a randomised, blinded, clinical trial”. British Journal of Anaesthesia 2020
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ML Chia, DH Chau, CW Liu et al. Managing COVID-19 in a Novel, Rapidly Deployable Community Isolation Facility. Annals of Internal Medicine 2020
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Clinical Challenges and Considerations in management of Chronic Pain Patients during a COVID-19 Pandemic. Annals of Academy of Medicine Singapore 2020
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Predictors of one year chronic post-surgical pain trajectories following thoracic surgery. J Anesth (2021)
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Weeding Out the Problem: The Impact of Preoperative Cannabinoid Use on Pain in the Perioperative Period. Anesthesia and Analgesia 2018
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Supraclavicular brachial plexus neurolysis for a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour: A Case Report. A&A Practice 2018
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Tenesmus and the role of superior hypogastric plexus blocks. Palliative Medicine 2018
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Multidimensional Treatment of Cancer Pain. Current Onco Reports 2017
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Ultrasound-Guided Hydrodilatation Versus Corticosteroid Injection for Adhesive Capsulitis: A Pilot Randomized Comparative Study. Cureus 2025
SELECTED BOOK CHAPTERS
1. Pain in the Elderly (chapter). Advances in Chronic and Neuropathic Pain, Contemporary Rheumatology