The Neuro extends its condolences to the family, friends and former colleagues of Gilles Bertrand, MD, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery of McGill University. During his long and distinguished career as a neurosurgeon at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital), Dr. Bertrand advanced the treatment of Parkinson’s, spinal disorders and pituitary tumours.
Gilles Bertrand was born on Aug. 5, 1924, in Montreal. He obtained his medical degree from the Université de Montréal in 1949. He then studied neurology and the anatomy of the cerebral venous system at La Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, for which he was awarded a Master of Science degree from the Faculty of Medicine of the Université de Paris. Dr. Bertrand return to Montréal in 1951 and began training in neurosurgery with Wilder Penfield and William Cone, founders of the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), who had a lasting influence on him. Dr. Bertrand held the distinction of being Penfield's last resident.
Dr. Bertrand was the first French-Canadian neurosurgeon appointed to the neurosurgical staff at the MNI. He reached the rank of Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University in 1971 and was named Neurosurgeon-in-Chief of the MNI in 1972, a position that he held until his retirement in 1991.
It was while he was in Paris that Dr. Bertrand first became aware that Parkinson's disease could be treated surgically by lesioning a cluster of cells in the thalamus, a procedure that he adopted, improved, and brought to the MNI. He and neurologist Herbert Jasper elucidated the localization of functions within the thalamus during Bertrand's operations, as Penfield had localized the functions of the cortex during surgery for epilepsy. Dr. Bertrand, together with André Olivier and Chris Thompson, developed a computerized brain atlas that could be matched to an individual patient’s brain using mathematical transformations, which they used in the operating room, to greater accuracy and the patient’s benefit. This was the first instance of the use of computers in neurosurgery, if not in surgery as a whole. Dr. Bertrand also pioneered in the surgical treatment of hormonal dysfunction from tumors of the pituitary gland, and in the treatment of complex spinal disorders.
For his many achievements, Dr. Bertrand was awarded The Order of Canada, The Lieutenant Governor’s Medal and The Canadian Centennial Medal. He passed away on Feb. 24, 2026 at the age of 101.
“Dr. Bertrand was recognised as a master surgeon, but his students remember him as a superb teacher and a kind and humble physician with an unremitting devotion to the care of his patients,” says Dr. Richard Leblanc, a former resident and colleague of Dr. Bertrand. “His accomplishments were many but those who knew him best will remember his impish, infectious smile.”
