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Southwestern Ontario’s largest hospital is celebrating not one but two first-of-their-kind surgeries to replace damaged heart valves – both of which happened just a week apart in the spring.

The hospital allowed both patients to heal from their surgeries fully before making the big announcement Monday.

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A multidisciplinary heart team at London Health Science Centre’s University Hospital successfully implanted a specialized device, the Medtronic Evolut Pro Valve, into a patient’s heart through her femoral artery in April – the first time the procedure has been completed with this device in Canada.

The LHSC surgeons pioneered the use of a new trans-catheter aortic valve, which has a so-called “double skirt” to prevent leaks — a major problem with other valves. It’s implanted by snaking the device all the way from the groin to the heart through the arteries using a tiny tube.

The minimally invasive procedure meant the patient could avoid open heart surgery and the complications that can come with it.