The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has, since its inception, aspired to champion innovation and raise standards of healthcare education and training with the intention, at its core, to improve patient outcomes. The Li Shu Fan Professorship, in partnership with the Li Shu Fan Foundation, was established to reflect and pursue this shared aspiration, through research and the exchange of scientific knowledge. In the summer of 2025, Dr Yuen was awarded the inaugural Li Shu Fan Professorship and in just six months has made tremendous progress in supporting RCSEd and The Li Shu Fan Foundation’s aspiration.
At the centre of the Li Shu Fan Professorship, Dr Yuen is conducting research entitled: FLEXible Ureteroscopy with Flexible and Navigable Suction Ureteral Access Sheaths (FANS); a prospective global treatment Outcomes Registry in nephrolithiasis (FLEXOR-FANS). Upon reflection Dr Yuen concluded that the project is “progressing with strong momentum. We have successfully established the international collaborative network. Ongoing data collection and preliminary analyses from the core data points were submitted to EAU 2026 as abstract. Evidence generated will show the transformative potential of FANS technology and sets the stage for long term robust, multi-center data collection.”
Dr Yuen’s publication record is impressive, and even the preliminary stages of the research funded through the Li Shu Fan Professorship, has to date, been published on several occasions.
In recent weeks, Dr Yuen has hosted Professor Bhaskar Somani, Mr Joe Phillip (BAUS President) and Mr Sarath Nalagatla in Hong Kong to demonstrate her endourology work and the novel technological devices utilised in Hong Kong.
In addition to research, Dr Yuen has tirelessly worked to share her vast specialist knowledge, presenting lectures at conferences across the world. At the Society of International Urologists’ (SIU), 2025 Congress held in Edinburgh, Dr Yuen delivered a lecture entitled: “How And Why To Measure Intrarenal Pressure (IRP) In Ureteroscopy In Every Case” and was presented with the Innovators Award. Just a month later, at The European Association of Urology’s ICE25, Dr Yuen delivered two lectures, one focusing on FANS and the IRP, here Dr Yuen was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
In addition to formal activity, Dr Yuen graciously attended the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital’s (HKSH) annual dinner, where we she was able to meet Dr William Li, the nephew of Dr Li Shu Fan and Medical Superintendent of HKSH, and RCSEd’s President Dr Clare McNaught. The evening provided the perfect backdrop to celebrate all that has been achieved by the collaboration of healthcare leaders internationally, encompassing the very purpose of the Li Shu Fan Professorship, and allowing time to reflect on the role of Dr Yuen in achieving that shared vision of innovation and improving patient outcomes.
In the closing months as the Li Shu Fan Professor, Dr Yuen describes an equally busy schedule, focused on the enrolment of prospective patients in line with her research proposal. She also describes her plan to “inform best practices from the evidence generated from the FLEXOR registry on FANS utilization” and go on to “disseminate this through the RCSEd and the global networks, thereby aligning the professorship’s research objectives with its educational mission to advance clinical practice in endourology.”
RCSEd is proud to have supported Dr Yuen’s tremendous efforts thus far and looks forward to seeing all she will accomplish in 2026.