IN REMEMBRANCE
In Remembrance WAQAR AZIZ, MD May 1955-February 2018
Dr. Waqar Aziz was a renowned orthopedic surgeon at the St. Vincent Salem Hospital in Salem, Ind., who recently died unexpectedly and suddenly at his home in Floyd Knobs, Ind.
He was born and raised in the city of Bahawalpur in Southern Punjab in Pakistan and graduated from Bahawalpur Medical College in 1982. He came to the United States in 1987 and completed his, what seemed to be an interminable, orthopedic residency in Louisville. He worked with the world-renowned and inimitable duo of Drs. Kutz & Kleinert’ s Hand Surgery Program at Jewish Hospital. I met him over 25 years ago at Jewish Hospital and soon discovered that we shared common avocations and interests.
He relished and thoroughly enjoyed orthopedic surgery and became quite adept at many orthopedic procedures. He was a kind, compassionate, caring and soft-spoken individual.
Waqar was a doting father to his three sons and one daughter, and was a devoted husband to Mona, his wife. He had recently retired after multiple medical issues made it difficult for him to continue the demanding profession of orthopedic surgery.
Waqar was a bibliophile, a dedicated book lover, and read voraciously. He enjoyed discussing what he had recently read and used to become quite animated in his perspectives about styles, strengths and weaknesses of different authors. He was a writer and served as a member of the Editorial Board of the Greater Louisville Medical
Society. He contributed essays and book reviews to Louisville Medicine and wrote about his own experiences and perspectives of being a patient himself:“ the other side of the stethoscope,” so to speak. He had to deal with some medical issues including shoulder surgery and postoperative complications, and wrote a critical piece about his personal observations and experiences in doctors’ offices and hospitals, regarding the lack of professional courtesy and compassionate communication with patients( Louisville Medicine, July 2014).
He was uniformly loved by his colleagues and patients. St. Vincent Salem Hospital named an operating room wing after his memory.
We have lost a wonderful friend, a remarkably erudite gentleman and a highly qualified and compassionate surgeon who will be deeply missed. I will always remember his hearty laughter and his kind demeanor. He had retired reluctantly, and sadly he did not have a chance to enjoy his retirement for very long. But such is life, and death is inevitable for all of us,“ Inna Lillahe Wa Inna Ilaihe Raajeoon”- We belong to God and to Him we shall return. May his soul rest in peace.
- M. Saleem Seyal, MD, FACP, FACC
Dr. Aziz was a GLMS member for 26 years and a member of the Louisville Medicine Editorial Board.
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