Maritimes' only pediatric cardiovascular surgeon off to Alberta

Canada's only pediatric cardiovascular surgeon east of Montreal has pulled up stakes and moved to Alberta. However, Dr. David Ross will remain only a heartbeat away from the IWK Health Centre.

A contingency plan put in place by the Halifax hospital calls for pediatric cardiovascular surgeons from across the country to fly to Halifax and perform surgery from September to November. Ross, now with the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Program in Edmonton, is one of the specialists involved. The plan also calls for high-risk pediatric patients from the Maritimes to be treated at the Montreal Children's Hospital and the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, says Dr. Ken Wilson, the IWK's chief of surgery. This summer, emergency situations were being handled locally by nonpediatric cardiovascular surgeons.

Wilson is optimistic that a new pediatric cardiovascular surgeon will soon be found. The IWK, with a helping hand from the provincial Department of Health, is actively recruiting, and Wilson says there are at least 6 interested candidates. Ross had been performing 110 to 115 open-heart operations annually at the hospital.

Ross, who joined the IWK in 1993, is not the only pediatric specialist to leave Nova Scotia for Alberta this summer. Dr. Vivek Mehta, a pediatric neurosurgeon at the IWK, has announced that he too is leaving for Edmonton. However, his position will not be filled. Dr. Bill Howes, head of the IWK's Division of Neurosurgery, will now treat all patients.

The latest moves point to Alberta's growing financial clout, which allows the province to recruit doctors across the country (see CMAJ 2001;164[11]:1607).