Bhopal's first Plastic Surgeon, Dr Syed Zaheerul Islam no more

Bhopal: In an unfortunate incident, renowned plastic surgeon Dr Syed Zaheerul Islam passed away in his 90s on Wednesday. He was the first plastic surgeon in Bhopal.

He was a professor of plastic surgery, a poet and an expert aerial photographer with a passion to document the evolving city of lakes. He had a knack and talent for scriptwriting in documentaries as well. He has written the script for a documentary named 'Down the memory lane' which was presented at the GMC golden jubilee celebrations held in 2005. 

There is no doubt that he was an exceptionally multitalented person who enjoyed life and at the same time made many friends with his charm who called him 'would be pilot' due to his passion for aerial photography. However, his death was shocking to his students who respected and admired him for his extraordinary personality.

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He was also credited with MP's first sex reassignment surgery where a woman constable in Madhya Pradesh was allowed to undergo sex reassignment surgery in 2019 considering the first case in the state. She consulted doctors from Delhi, Gwalior`s JAH Hospital and Bhopal`s Gandhi Medical College and was recommended gender change.

GMC assistant professor, Dr SK Patne told TOI, "He was one of our favourite teachers in the medical college and was the first to showcase aerial photographs of the GMC campus, proving the college building was designed in the shape of a medical cross from the top."

He was in the second batch of MBBS Master of Surgery M.S. (Plastic Surgery), the year 1956 at Gandhi Medical College (GMC) in Bhopal.

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His last words before death shot in a video were "The whole city was at my funeral, only you were not there which I was waiting for."

Dr Zaheer's aerial photography of Bhopal dates before the age of the internet and satellite imagery. Documentation that would in time be historic and a testament to the city's heritage and architecture. He welcomed anyone who wanted to use his pictures for publication. As early as 2000, Dr Zaheer digitized his collection for preservation. He also was one of the first to use videos in medical conferences for demonstration.