DETROIT – The international neurosurgery community is in mourning following the sudden death of Dr. Wayel Kaakaji, MD, a trailblazing surgeon whose innovative techniques for removing complex brain tumors through tiny incisions saved or extended thousands of lives worldwide.
Dr. Kaakaji, 58, passed away unexpectedly on December 4, 2025, at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where he served as Director of Endoscopic and Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery for nearly two decades. Hospital officials confirmed his death Thursday but did not disclose the cause, citing family wishes for privacy.
SUPPORT THE FAMILY - GOD BLESS YOU
Colleagues described Dr. Kaakaji as the rare surgeon who combined fearless technical innovation with an almost legendary bedside calm. He was among the first in the Midwest to routinely use expanded endoscopic approaches through the nose to reach previously inoperable pituitary tumors and skull-base lesions, dramatically reducing recovery times and sparing patients large craniotomies.
“Wayel didn’t just push the envelope—he redrew it,” said Dr. Ellen Air, Chair of Neurosurgery at Henry Ford Health. “He took cases other centers turned away and gave people their lives back. His loss is incalculable.”
Born in Damascus, Syria, Dr. Kaakaji came to the United States as a teenager and earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern before completing residency and fellowship training at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix—one of the world’s premier neurosurgical programs.
Over his 30-year career, he authored more than 120 peer-reviewed papers, held multiple patents on endoscopic instruments, and trained over 60 fellows who now lead programs across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. In 2023, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons honored him with its highest research award for lifetime contributions to skull-base surgery.
Patients remembered him as the surgeon who sat with families for hours explaining MRI scans in plain language, often sketching tumors on napkins to ease fears.
“He held my hand the night before my surgery and promised he’d fight as hard for me as he would for his own sister,” said former patient Laura Brennan of Ann Arbor, who had a golf-ball-sized meningioma removed endoscopically by Dr. Kaakaji in 2019. “He kept that promise, and then checked on me every year after.”
Dr. Kaakaji is survived by his wife, Dr. Maha Kaakaji, a diagnostic radiologist; their three children; and his parents. The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Wayel Kaakaji Endowed Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery at Henry Ford Health.
A public memorial service celebrating his life and legacy will be held Tuesday, December 9, at 4 p.m. in the hospital’s main auditorium, with a livestream available for the hundreds of colleagues and former patients around the world who wish to pay their respects.
Flags at Henry Ford Hospital were lowered to half-staff Thursday in honor of a physician many simply called “the gentle giant of neurosurgery.” His operating-room playlist—always classic Arabic music mixed with 1980s American rock—fell silent this week, but his techniques and humanity will guide surgeons for decades to come.