How to choose a general surgeon 2026: what General Surgery covers, checking specialist registration, public and private fees and waiting, insurance

What does a general surgeon treat?

General Surgery deals with conditions throughout the body that need surgical treatment, and also performs minimally invasive surgery and endoscopic examination and treatment, and it comes under The College of Surgeons of Hong Kong (Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, Specialty Descriptions, April 2025); the specialty's name on the Medical Council register is General Surgery (S28); for its English name, see General Surgery: English name and code. The surgical specialties that also come under The College of Surgeons of Hong Kong and have their own codes on the register are in the table below.

Which doctor follows up a particular problem that needs surgery, and whether to refer, is decided by the treating doctor according to the patient's condition.

How do I check whether a doctor is a General Surgery specialist?

On the Medical Council of Hong Kong website, choosing ‘General Surgery’ (S28) in the Specialist Register opens the list of doctors registered in that specialty; searching by name shows the specialty and the specialist registration number in the specialist registration field of the doctor's record. For the steps, see How to check a doctor's registration and specialty.

A doctor must be on the Specialist Register to hold himself or herself out as a specialist, and can use only the title of the specialty in which he or she is registered (Medical Council, Code of Professional Conduct for the Guidance of Registered Medical Practitioners, section 7, October 2022).

For what qualification abbreviations on a name card mean, see What is FHKAM?.

How do I get a referral to a public surgery clinic? Can I book a private surgeon directly?

Surgery is one of the eight specialties for which the Hospital Authority regularly publishes new-case waiting times. To book a new appointment at a Hospital Authority specialist outpatient clinic, you need a referral letter issued by a locally registered doctor within the last three months; a letter from a private doctor is also accepted. Our analysis: for a private specialist, you can ask the hospital or clinic directly how to book; if you use medical insurance, whether a referral letter or pre-approval is needed depends on the policy terms, and you can ask the insurer first.

‘Eligible Persons’ in the table mainly means holders of a Hong Kong Identity Card and children under 11 who are Hong Kong residents; for details, see Public healthcare fee reform 2026.

For what a consultation fee quote generally includes, see Private specialist fees overview; for the booking steps, see How to book a public specialist outpatient clinic; for a general comparison of the two routes, see Public or private specialist?.

If your condition gets worse while you wait, you can contact the specialist outpatient clinic to ask for an earlier appointment; in an emergency, go to the Accident and Emergency Department.

How long is the wait for a first appointment at a public General Surgery clinic?

From October 2025 to September 2026, the median waiting time for stable new cases in Hospital Authority Surgery ranged from 28 to 43 weeks (about 6 to 10 months) across the seven hospital clusters (by former boundaries), and the data's next update is due on 29 January 2027. For the figures by cluster, see Public waiting time for Surgery.

How do I compare hospitals or medical centres?

When comparing, put the same item on the same basis. Private hospitals must have a fee schedule covering all chargeable items, and patients have the right to know the charges before treatment (Department of Health, Code of Practice for Private Hospitals, July 2026).

For each private hospital's fees, see Private hospital fees.

What should I check when using medical insurance for a surgeon?

Before seeing a private specialist, confirm three things with the insurer: whether the policy covers specialist outpatient visits, whether it is limited to a designated medical network, and whether a referral letter or pre-approval is needed; see Using medical insurance for a private specialist.

The Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme covers only individual indemnity hospital insurance; outpatient insurance is outside the Scheme. The Standard Plan covers up to 1 outpatient or emergency consultation before a hospital stay or day surgery, and up to 3 follow-up outpatient visits within 90 days after discharge or day surgery, which must be directly related to the illness or injury requiring the hospital stay or day surgery, at HK$580 per visit and HK$3,000 per policy year (Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme, Standard Plan policy template, July 2022).

Some insurers offer pre-approval (commonly called ‘免找數’): if both the policy and the hospital offer direct billing, you can apply to the insurer before admission and the insurer pays the hospital directly; the approved amount is an estimate, and before discharge you still pay charges not listed in the ‘letter of guarantee’, such as the deductible, co-payment and items outside the cover (Insurance Authority, January 2024); see Medical insurance pre-approval.

What should I ask before booking? What should I bring to the first visit?

Is the doctor listed under General Surgery (S28) on the Medical Council's Specialist Register?

How much are the first consultation and follow-ups? What grade is the doctor?

Does the consultation fee include medicines? What tests might be needed this time, and roughly how much will they cost?

Is my medical insurance accepted, can the clinic bill the insurer directly, and is a referral letter or pre-approval needed?

If a procedure or admission is needed later, can a budget estimate of the service fees be provided first?

What to bring: a referral letter (if any), previous test reports and a list of the medicines you are taking; see What to prepare before a specialist appointment.

Severe abdominal pain or heavy bleeding: when should I call 999 or go to A&E straight away?

Call 999 straight away, without waiting for an appointment, for: heavy bleeding (Fire Services Department, First Responder Programme). Where Hong Kong sources do not list a sign, the UK NHS is used; this site suggests going to A&E now, and calling 999 if you cannot get there yourself or it gets worse, for: abdominal pain that came on very suddenly or is severe (NHS, Stomach ache, May 2023).

If you feel it is an emergency for any other reason, call 999 straight away too. The situations in which this site suggests calling 999, with the source for each, are listed in Why do we suggest calling 999?.

If it is not urgent and you are not sure whether you need a surgeon, you can see a family doctor first; which specialty to be referred to is decided by the attending doctor according to your condition (see the questions below).

Frequently asked questions