Open heart surgery

Overview | The operation | Timeline | Meet the team | Day in the life

Date and time of operation

Monday 25th May at 10.25pm

David Payne: The patient

David had a leaky mitral valve in his heart, which was causing him to feel extremely tired and short of breath. A functioning mitral valve only lets blood flow in one direction through the left side of the heart. However, when the valve is damaged, blood can flow the wrong way, resulting in increased pressure on the heart. If David's condition had been left untreated his heart would have eventually failed.

Video: Hear from David about his condition before surgery
Video: Find out how David felt the day after his operation

David's progress

Tues 26th May: David has made remarkably swift progress and said himself he wasn't expecting to feel so well so quickly. He was talking fluently and joking with us!

He has already noticed that his cough has gone, and said it was the first time in nine months he has woken up without it. His breathing feels easier and he is incredibly grateful to Mr Wells. His wife Kate is very happy and relieved.

'It has been a privilege to have been part of this series. We have yet to see the film but we have recorded it and I am just amazed that so many members of my family watched it live and found the film so fascinating,' said Kate.

'Papworth Hospital is a special place... I will be forever grateful and can never thank Papworth Hospital enough for what they have done for our family in giving David his health and strength back.'

Surgeon Frank Wells was also very pleased with the result. 'The operation actually went extremely well and the patient was awake, comfortable and breathing on his own at 7.30am the following morning,' he said.

• The operation
  To repair the damaged mitral valve, our surgeon repaired it using tiny stitches and a semi-rigid ring.
• Timeline
  A stitch-by-stitch account of what happened during the operation, including video highlights and details of each stage.
• Meet the team
  Each operation is carried out by a team of highly specialised individuals. Find out more.
• Day in the life
  We accompanied surgeon Francis Wells at Papworth Hospital to see what his day involved.

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