Transitions: Orthopaedic surgeon Prof. Sulaiman A Khan passes away at 88

He was offering free treatment at a clinic for the past 10 years.

KARACHI: Hours after the demise of Prof. ZK Kazi, his colleague and friend of more than 45 years, Prof. Sulaiman Ahmed Khan, passed away at the age of 88 on Tuesday in Karachi. Apart from being known as one of Pakistan’s first orthopaedic surgeons, he was also famous among peers and patients for his philanthropic work.

For the last 10 years, he had been providing his charitable services at a clinic. “It wasn’t just the clinic, he was always involved in helping out others,” said Prof. Ghulam Mehboob, who remembered him as the “finest surgeon” he knew. “His knowledge was exceptional and he was always up to date with latest news and developments. He was a straightforward person and didn’t beat around the bush, which was one of his most admirable traits - his loss, in my opinion, is irreplaceable.”

Prof. Anisuddin Bhatti called the late professor’s knowledge “unmatchable” in all fields, including religion and history. “He was saddened when I informed him of Prof. Kazi’s demise on Tuesday but said that he would see me tomorrow.”

Prof. Sulaiman Ahmed Khan

Prof. Sulaiman’s son, Adnan Khan, admitted that Prof. Kazi’s passing left a deep impact on his father. “They were good friends and had been working together since 1965,” said Khan, who is a public health researcher. “He lived and died the way he wanted to - he worked relentlessly for his profession and his patients.”

According to a citation prepared by Prof. Bhatti, Prof. Sulaiman worked in England for a year as a consultant surgeon and then came back to Pakistan and joined the Orthopaedic Surgery department of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in 1964. With the start of the war of 1965, he left to join the army and after his return, was appointed as Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. He later served the country in the war of 1971. Prof. Sulaiman was known as an expert on arthroplasty and spinal surgeries and was one of the first to perform breakthrough surgeries during his time. He invented new procedures which are being followed to date, worked on multiple projects and published his results for further use. During 1979 to 1980, he received specialised training in principles of orthopaedics at Davos, Switzerland, and then taught these principles to his juniors.



The late professor conducted different workshops and courses during his time, one of which was a workshop on “Basic Principles of fracture and non union” which was held for the first time in Pakistan at JPMC.

If there was one thing that he loved as much as his career - or more - was cricket. His love for the game could be traced back to his childhood but Prof. Sulaiman was grateful to his ‘Baba’ who advised him to concentrate on his medical profession rather than cricket. Otherwise Prof. Sulaiman believed he would have led the Pakistan Cricket Team, said Prof. Bhatti.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th, 2013.