For the Pakistani anesthesia fraternity, 2019 closed with a great deal of pain to boot. Our beloved Dr. Muhammad Imran Azeem left the world on the last day of the year, leaving behind as mourners not just his parents, siblings, wife and children, but a large anesthetic community who had known and loved him.
Imran entered anesthesiology as a resident at Hameed Latif Hospital with the Kaul Associates Lahore in 2005, and this affiliation remained strong till his death. During his career, he worked at Lady Aitchison Hospital Lahore and Lady Willingdon Hospital Lahore as senior registrar and assistant professor respectively. Currently, he was appointed as associate professor of anesthesia at
PGMI / Ameer-ud-Din Medical College / LGH Lahore.
For the people who ever came to know him, - friends, students, colleagues and subordinates – Imran was a class apart. His anesthetic prowess, especially when dealing with pediatric patients, was well known amongst those who had worked with him; so were his light-hearted jokes and infectious smile. Many busy evenings at Hameed Latif hospital were enriched by his tall, lanky presence, strolling from OR to OR, lending a hand or cracking a crisp joke whenever, either was needed.
Imran’s unexpected death has been untimely by all means. A tragic accident involving a fall from a stair knocked him down with severe head injury on 15 December 2019. He succumbed to his injuries on 31 December 2019, after days on mechanical ventilation. As we bid farewell to the year 2019 and to Dr. Imran Azeem, we pray that the man who helped to put thousands to a gentle sleep, is blessed with a restful eternal sleep himself.
Ashraf Zia
Professor of Anesthesiology Jinnah Hospital, Lahore (Pakistan).
Dr. Muhammad Imran Azeem, OBITUARY
DOI: https://doi.org/10.35975/apic.v23i4.1181