Dr Muhammad Ali Waqas-Brain & Spine Surgeon

27/02/2026

😱

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania discovered that hydralazine, a long-standing blood pressure medication, can halt aggressive glioblastoma growth.

Treated tumor cells entered senescence within three days, stopping division without dying.

X-ray crystallography revealed that hydralazine binds to the oxygen-sensing enzyme ADO, preventing tumor cells from surviving in low-oxygen environments, a key feature of glioblastoma progression.

This pathway also links brain cancer and preeclampsia, suggesting that hydralazine could be repurposed as a potential treatment for aggressive tumors, though further studies are needed to confirm clinical benefits.

Bottom Fact: Hydralazine stops glioblastoma growth by inducing cellular senescence via ADO inhibition, linking preeclampsia and brain cancer.

Source: University of Pennsylvania & University of Texas, Science Advances, 2025.

Disclaimer: Informational only. Consult a healthcare professional before considering any medication for off-label use.

27/02/2026

At just eight years old, Christina Santhouse underwent a rare hemispherectomy to stop severe seizures caused by Rasmussen’s encephalitis. Doctors warned she might never walk or speak again after losing half her brain.

Against expectations, Christina gradually regained speech, movement, and learning abilities. Her recovery demonstrated how a child’s brain can reorganize functions and adapt after major neurological surgery.

Today, Christina supports children facing speech and neurological challenges, using her story to encourage families facing similar diagnoses and treatments. Her journey highlights the remarkable resilience of the developing brain.

Bottom Fact: Hemispherectomy patients can recover important skills because the brain can reorganize functions through neuroplasticity.

Source: National Institutes of Health, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Peer-reviewed neuroscience and hemispherectomy outcome studies.

Disclaimer: Educational content only. Medical outcomes vary and treatment decisions should be guided by qualified healthcare professionals.

26/02/2026

A brain tumour diagnosis can feel overwhelming, but it is not the end. It is the beginning of a treatment journey guided by expertise, precision, and hope.

With early detection, advanced imaging, and modern neurosurgical care, many brain tumours are treatable and manageable. The key is timely evaluation and a personalized treatment plan.

At Buch International Hospital, our advanced neurology and neurosurgery department is committed to delivering care with compassion, protecting brain function, preserving quality of life, and restoring confidence for the future.

Early action makes the difference.
Book your consultation today: +92 347 7244244


[ Brain Tumour, Neurosurgery, Neurology, Early Diagnosis, Advanced Care, Multan Hospital ]

22/02/2026

A Quiet Shift ❤️🧐🧐🧐

A silent transformation has taken place in Pakistan — yet perhaps we haven’t truly noticed it.

Today, many doctors think about something beyond just treating the patient — they think about protecting themselves.
In the world, this is called Defensive Medicine.

It refers to medical care that is not based solely on the patient’s needs, but also on avoiding potential complaints, lawsuits, social media trials, or administrative pressure.

At first, this may sound strange. But the reality is that when trust within a system weakens, decisions begin to be driven by fear rather than medical principles.

In recent years in Pakistan, attacks on hospitals, violence against doctors, unverified accusations on social media, and demands for immediate punishment have created an environment where doctors are forced to ask themselves with every decision: What will happen if the outcome is not as expected?

What are the consequences?
• Unnecessary tests increase — because “nothing should be missed.”
• Patients are referred quickly — because “no risk should be taken.”
• Complex cases are avoided — because “the risk is too high.”

On the surface, this looks like caution. But in reality, it harms both patients and the healthcare system.

Global research shows that defensive medicine significantly increases healthcare costs. Unnecessary tests, additional admissions, and repeated referrals not only burden patients financially but also strain hospital capacity. Emergency wards remain overcrowded, waiting times increase, and those in genuine need are pushed further back.

The most dangerous consequence is the breakdown of trust.

When doctors make decisions out of fear and patients receive treatment with suspicion, healthcare stops being a human relationship and turns into a legal transaction. Medicine — once built on empathy and trust — gradually transforms into a defensive practice.

Successful healthcare systems around the world have addressed this issue not only through laws but through balance: clear medical protocols, independent medical review boards, legal protection for doctors, and transparent complaint systems for patients — so that justice is ensured without creating fear.

In Pakistan, the issue is not that accountability shouldn’t exist. Accountability is essential. But when accountability is driven not by systems, but by crowds, pressure, or emotion, even the best doctors begin to hesitate in taking necessary risks.

And in medicine, sometimes saving a life requires taking a risk.

If we truly want a better healthcare system, we must answer a fundamental question:

Are we creating an environment where doctors can make the best medical decision?
Or an environment where they can only make the safest decision?

Because the safest decision is not always the best treatment.

When doctors work in fear, the system becomes more expensive and more fragile.
And when trust returns, treatment improves — and so does humanity. 😌😌😌😌😌

22/02/2026

We are not losing doctors to money.
We are losing them to emotional exhaustion.

A few years ago, a fellow in my unit quit medicine.

Top ranker. Gold medalist. Brilliant hands.

He did not fail.

He walked away.

He joined an MBA program.

When I asked him why, he said something I will never forget:

“Sir, I can handle long hours. I cannot handle losing people and then being blamed for it.”

Another story.

A junior doctor I knew did not quit.

He died.

By su***de.

After months of relentless ICU duty, litigation threats from a patient’s family, and public humiliation on social media.

There was no headline.

No panel discussion.

No prime-time outrage.

Just a quiet funeral.

And a department that moved on the next morning.

A third one.

A surgeon in his 40s. Successful. Established.

One complication.

Not negligence. Not recklessness. A complication.

It spiraled into legal notices, online abuse, and political interference.

He now runs a wellness retreat in the hills.

He says he sleeps better.

He says he feels lighter.

He says he does not miss the operating room.

That sentence should terrify us.

We keep telling ourselves the system is fine.

It is not.

Across India. Across the UK. Across the US.

Doctors are leaving clinical medicine.

Some go into administration.

Some into startups.

Some into pharma.

Some into tech.

Some into complete silence.

And some into graves.

We do not talk about that enough.

Medicine demands competence.

But it survives on emotional resilience.

And that resilience is being crushed.

Not just by workload.

By distrust.

By constant suspicion.

By the assumption that if an outcome is bad, someone must be guilty.

By the idea that doctors must be perfect in an imperfect biological system.

We are trained to fight death.

We are not trained to fight public outrage every time biology wins.

Here is what scares me.

When the best doctors leave, it is not dramatic.

It is silent.

Residency seats go vacant.

Departments become transactional.

Young doctors stop taking high-risk cases.

Defensive medicine rises.

Compassion shrinks.

Risk-taking disappears.

And slowly, the system becomes average.

Not because doctors became less capable.

Because they became less willing.

I have seen brilliant residents say:

“I would rather build a company.”

“I would rather do consulting.”

“I would rather move abroad.”

“I would rather do anything but this.”

These are not lazy people.

They are tired people.

Tired of carrying outcomes that were never fully in their control.

Tired of being heroes in pandemics and villains in peacetime.

Tired of being called greedy for charging fees that barely match the emotional cost.

And when a doctor dies by su***de, the conversation lasts 48 hours.

Then we return to normal.

As if nothing is wrong.

But something is very wrong.

Because when healers start breaking at scale, it is not an individual weakness.

It is systemic strain.

If you are a doctor reading this, you know.

You know the quiet replay after a bad case.

You know the insomnia.

You know the smile you wear in front of patients.

You know the fear of one mistake defining your career.

You know the emotional math you do every night.

Stay or leave.

Fight or fold.

Care deeply or detach completely.

We are not losing doctors because they cannot survive medicine.

We are losing them because medicine is becoming emotionally unsafe.

And when that happens, the cost is not borne by doctors alone.

It is borne by society.

Because the next generation is watching.

And they are asking a simple question:

“Is this worth it?”

If the answer becomes no…

the shortage will not be numerical.

It will be moral.

Doctors are not murderers.

They are humans who are burning out quietly.

And unless we acknowledge that truth, the system will keep losing its best people.



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𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫s 𝐨𝐟 '𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐬' & 'Dear People, With Love And Care, Your Doctors

18/02/2026

10/02/2026

Two level ACDF for cervical disc herniations with brachalgia. Immediate pain relief after surgery

26/01/2026

25/01/2026

Cranioplasty: Skull bone flap replaced

31/12/2025

As we step into the New Year, we wish you renewed strength and a year of positive changes 🥳🎉🎊👍🏻👍🏻
#2026

14/08/2025

خدا کرے میرے ایک بھی ہم وطن کے لئے
حیات جرم نہ ہو، زندگی وبال نہ ہو