Dr Estee Chan female Rheumatologist Auckland rheumatoid arthritis lupus woman doctor private practice contact

Dr Estee Chan MBChB FRACP

Rheumatologist

Dr Estee Chan is a specialist rheumatologist practising in Auckland, New Zealand.

Dr Chan grew up in Auckland after emigrating to New Zealand from Hong Kong with her parents in her early teens.

She graduated from the University of Auckland School of Medicine with Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) in 2007. She received rheumatology specialist training in Auckland and Christchurch before attaining her specialist qualification in Rheumatology with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) in 2015.

She received further postgraduate fellowship training at the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals London, UK, in subspecialty areas of inflammatory arthritis, lupus and vasculitis under the tutelage of Professor Bruce Kirkham and Professor David D’Cruz before returning to New Zealand to practise in 2017.

Dr Chan currently holds part time consultant rheumatologist positions at both Te Whatu Ora Auckland and Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau.

Her subspecialty interests include rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthropathy, lupus and musculoskeletal ultrasound.

Dr Chan is proficient in the use of musculoskeletal ultrasound in rheumatology.

Dr Chan is heavily involved in the training of the next generation of rheumatologists in New Zealand. She is the current Chair of the New Zealand Rheumatology Advanced Training Subcommittee (ATS) of the RACP and the Deputy Chair of the RACP Australasian Rheumatology Advanced Training Committee (ATC).

Dr Chan speaks fluent English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Outside of work, Dr Chan is a busy mother of two school aged children. She enjoys yoga, reading and playing the piano.

Services We Provide

Diagnosis

We take a full medical history, perform a tailored physical examination and review all relevant laboratory and radiology test results in order to determine the diagnosis.

Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

Musculoskeletal ultrasound is routinely performed to aid the diagnosis and assist with disease activity monitoring in rheumatic diseases. We also use ultrasound to guide intra-articular joint aspirations and injections.

Treatment

Management of rheumatic diseases is multi-faceted. It involves explanation of the condition, commencement of DMARD therapy, administration of therapeutics such as intramuscular steroid injections or ultrasound guided intra-articular injections if appropriate, and discussion of the role of exercise and physical therapy.

Follow up and Monitoring

Rheumatic diseases are often chronic conditions that require long term follow up. Regular review of the condition and adjustment to medications when appropriate is advocated in order to achieve the best outcome in most conditions. Regular blood test monitoring is required when taking DMARD therapy.

Scientific Publications by Dr Chan

  1. Chan E, McQueen F. Valproate-induced hyperammonaemia superimposed upon severe neuropsychiatric lupus: a case report and review of the literature. Clin Rheumatol. 2013 Mar;32(3):403-7. doi: 10.1007/s10067-012-2150-x. Epub 2012 Dec 28. PMID: 23271612.

  2. McQueen FM, Chan E. Insights into rheumatoid arthritis from use of MRI. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2014 Jan;16(1):388. doi: 10.1007/s11926-013-0388-1. PMID: 24258615.

  3. Chan E, House ME, Petrie KJ, Horne A, Taylor WJ, Dalbeth N. Complementary and alternative medicine use in patients with gout: a longitudinal observational study. J Clin Rheumatol 2014 Jan;20(1):16-20. doi: 10.1097/RHU.0000000000000059. PMID: 24356480.

  4. Chan E, Sangle SR, Coghlan JG, D'Cruz DD. Pulmonary artery aneurysms in Behçet's disease treated with anti-TNFα: A case series and review of the literature. Autoimmun Rev. 2016 Apr;15(4):375-8. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2016.01.003. Epub 2016 Jan 8. PMID: 26777307.

  5. Chan E, Steel KJA, Taams LS, Kirkham BW. 249. Can the presence of IL-17+CD8+ T cells in synovial fluid of undifferentiated inflammatory arthritis patients predict their eventual clinical phenotype? Rheumatology 2017 Apr;56(Suppl 2)":kex062.251, https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kex062.251

  6. Steel KJA, Chan E, Kirkham BW, Taams LS. SAT0036 IL-17+CD8+ T cells enriched in the synovial fluid of PSA/SPA patients exhibit a pro-inflammatory cytokine phenotype. Ann Rheum Dis 2017 Jun;76(Suppl 2):780.3-780 DOI:10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-eular.5117

  7. Steel KJA, Wu S-Y, Srenathan U, Chan E, Kirkham BW, Taams LS. O016 Synovial IL-17+CD8+ T cells ara pro-inflammatory tissue resident population enriched in spondyloarthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 2018 Mar;77(Suppl 1):A8.2-A9DOI:10.1136/annrheumdis-2018-EWRR2018.16

  8. Steel KJA, Wu S-Y, Srenathan U, Chan E, Kirkham BW, Taams LS. O40 IL-17+CD8+ T cells are a pro-inflammatory tissue resident population enriched in joints of patients with spondyloarthritis. Br J Rheumatol 2018 Apr;57 (Suppl 3) DOI:10.1093/rheumatology/key075.222

  9. Steel KJA, Srenathan U, Ridley M, Durham LE, Wu SY, Ryan SE, Hughes CD, Chan E, Kirkham BW, Taams LS. Polyfunctional, Proinflammatory, Tissue-Resident Memory Phenotype and Function of Synovial Interleukin-17A+CD8+ T Cells in Psoriatic Arthritis. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020 Mar;72(3):435-447. doi: 10.1002/art.41156. Epub 2020 Feb 4. PMID: 31677365; PMCID: PMC7065207.

  10. Chaabo K, Chan E, Garrood T, Rutter-Locher Z, Vincent A, Galloway J, Norton S, Kirkham BW. Pain sensitisation and joint inflammation in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. RMD Open 2024;10:e003784. DOI:10.1136/rmdopen-2023-0037842023.

  11. O’Mahony K, Chan E. An audit on the identification and management of anti-phospholipid syndrome in patients with systemic lupus erythematous in Counties Manukau District Health Board; Internal Medicine Journal 2024; 54 (Suppl 1) 4-24. doi:10.1111/imj.16398