Paul W. Weldner, M.D., was always interested in how things worked. At a young age he would take things apart just to put them back together again. “I guess it was natural, then, to choose a surgical career after completing medical school,” says Weldner. Weldner excelled in the demanding technical requirements of heart surgery, and a yearlong fellowship in baby heart surgery in London led ultimately to his subspecialty of pediatric heart surgery and later a job in Portland. Now, 20 years later, Weldner has moved his practice to Lewiston, so that he can provide a more personal experience for his patients in a relaxed environment. Weldner wants Mainers to have access to the best medicine rather than needing to drive to larger cities. This is why he brought minimally invasive heart surgery and percutaneous valve technology to the state— both types of surgeries allow for efficiency and less pain. Currently he is chief of the division of minimally invasive valve surgery at Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute. He is also on the medical advisory board for minimally invasive valve surgery at the Edwards Lifesciences Corporation.