Great great grandfather Ken Austin could not face the prospect of another NHS operation so he has flown thousands of miles for surgery in India at the age of 80.
Mr Austin, Heaton, Bradford, had his right leg amputated last year after an artery was severed during a knee replacement at Bradford Royal Infirmary.
When he realised he would need an operation to replace his left knee he began to look further afield, having lost faith in the NHS.
Prompted by a friend in Greece who had successfully undergone the same operation at a hospital in India, Mr Austin decided he would do the same.
He contacted the Bharathi Raja Hospital in Chennai and within weeks was being operated on by Dr AK Venkatachalam, a UK-trained consultant orthopaedic surgeon.
Mr Austin is now recovering at the Indian hospital following the operation last Thursday and looking forward to returning home at the end of the month.
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Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Austin, a former foster carer for Bradford Council, said: "I found the hospital through a friend in Greece who had both knees replaced in January. He had a very good experience and is doing things that he hasn't been able to do in years.
"Because I had had a bad experience and my friend had a good experience with the Indian surgeon I decided I would try that.
"Up to now, it seems to have been very successful for me. I still have some pain but I am already walking with my sticks."
Mr Austin had his first knee replacement operation in 1993 at a hospital in Airedale which no longer exists. But last year he began experiencing pain and was told the knee needed replacing again.
Surgeons at Bradford Royal Infirmary explained it was risky cutting through old scar tissue but Mr Austin decided to go ahead. Unfortunately, during the operation an artery was severed and what should have been an eight-day stay turned into an eight-month nightmare.
Despite the efforts of a vascular team, the flesh on Mr Austin's right leg began to die and turn black. When ulcers developed, maggots were used to try to curb the problem but eventually surgeons were left with no choice but to amputate his leg above the knee.
"It was quite difficult to adapt but I did manage quite well and was soon gardening and driving again," said Mr Austin. "I will have to see how this one goes now."
Cost was also a motivating factor for choosing the Indian hospital. "The cost is a lot less in India," said Mr Austin.
"It would have cost me about £9,000 in England. Here, it is going to be about £5,000 and that includes airfares and everything."
Mr Austin is in daily telephone contact with his daughter, Carol Morley, 62, of Boothtown, Halifax.
"We are ever so proud of him," she said. "I was worried because if anything happened to him over there how was I going to get to him? I don't have a passport.
"I am still worried, really, and will be until he is back on home soil."
Posted by: PWW,Idle., bradford on 8:59am Thu 9 Aug 07
typical of this "Government for the people" with its open door to all policy etc.,which means one has to go abroad to receive treatment to ease one's pain . At least the Tories were not two-faced as regards their contempt for working people , unlike the South of Englang/Scottish Government we currently have . If Politicians had any decency they would resign at the state of our NHS , but of course they ARE politicians & so don't have any dignity or decency.
typical of this "Government for the people" with its open door to all policy etc.,which means one has to go abroad to receive treatment to ease one's pain . At least the Tories were not two-faced as regards their contempt for working people , unlike the South of Englang/Scottish Government we currently have . If Politicians had any decency they would resign at the state of our NHS , but of course they ARE politicians & so don't have any dignity or decency.
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