Wayne Bai (MBChB, FRACP) is a consultant gastroenterologist at Waikato Hospital. He spent his early childhood years in Hong Kong but came to New Zealand in 1993. He completed his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at Otago University, graduating in 2009.
After establishing his career in Auckland, Wayne completed a year-long hepatology fellowship at a liver transplant centre in Edmonton, Canada, before settling in Hamilton and starting at Waikato Hospital as a gastroenterologist. He lives with his partner, a medical registrar, and says he likes Hamilton because of its central location; its proximity to Auckland, beaches, Rotorua and Taupo and the North Island ski fields. He also likes travelling, cars, dogs, coffee and apples, not necessarily in that order.
Wayne is passionate about gastroenterology and liver diseases, with a particular interest in portal hypertension and fatty liver disease. His areas of expertise include fatty liver disease, hepatitis B and C, cirrhosis management, fibroscanning and endoscopy (diagnostic and therapeutic gastroscopy and colonoscopy).
“Hepatitis B is very prevalent in Asian countries. I’m fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin, which means I can engage with patients in their own language," he says.
He’s looking forward to helping make a difference through his new role with the Hepatitis Foundation. “The impact of hepatitis C is lessening thanks to various government policies and efforts by healthcare professionals to treat patients in the community. However there has been no major breakthrough recently in hepatitis B management and there’s a significant burden as it leads to cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Wayne is also a member of the New Zealand Society of Gastroenterology, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).
For advice or support from Wayne or another member of our clinical team please contact us.
