Is there another method to repair a child’s defective heart valve other than invasive surgery? Two Montreal cardiologists went to London, England to learn a new technique that accomplishes just that. The procedure, called percutaneous pulmonary valve implant, replaces open-heart surgery, and was performed in February this year by Montreal cardiologists Giuseppe Martucci and Adrian Dancea at the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

The Hospital becomes the fifth centre in the world certified to perform the procedure, invented by Philippe Bonhoeffer, chief of cardiology and director of the catheterization laboratory at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

• Dr. Giuseppe (Joe) Martucci, interventional cardiologist with McGill University Health Centre, based at Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal and assistant professor at McGill University Department of Medicine