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 The
pioneering days of heart surgery did not end with the
first few open-heart procedures. Surgeons, cardiologists,
anesthetists, nurses and technicians were kept busy ironing
out the kinks in their techniques as well as developing
new procedures, including valve repair and replacement,
coronary artery by-pass procedures and even heart transplant.
 By
the end of 1961 St. Paul’s had performed 18 cardiac
surgeries and was home to a small but busy cardiac catheterization
service. It was clear that the hospital would soon need
another cardiac surgeon. Dr. Al Gerein came to St. Paul’s
in 1961 from Cleveland, where he had been working on cardiac
valve surgery. Soon St. Paul’s performed its first
valve replacement surgery, followed shortly by the first
double-valve and first triple-valve replacements reported
in medical literature in Canada.
 As
the demand for cardiac surgery increased, so did waitlists,
and hospitals were in a constant battle for more resources.
Over the years cardiac surgery grew at St. Paul’s
and in 1979 Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery was granted
divisional status, bringing the hospital’s structure
in line with that of the University of British Columbia.
 In
a matter of less than fifty years St. Paul’s has
taken open-heart surgery from a pioneering effort to an
everyday affair, if not for the patients, at least for
the talented staff at what has become one of Western Canada’s
leading centres for cardiac care and the designated provincial
Heart Centre.
To read more about the development
of cardiac surgery at St. Paul’s download the printable
pdf version of Spirt of Discovery
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