A BOURNEMOUTH Second World War veteran denied a new type of operation to replace a blocked heart valve is being offered another procedure at the same hospital.

Charles Coutts, 96, was originally assessed as an ideal candidate for TAVI – transcatheter aortic valve implantation – by doctors at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. The keyhole operation is being used on a small number of patients who are considered too frail to have open heart surgery.

NHS Bournemouth and Poole refuses to commission the procedure for local patients on the grounds that it is still too risky, although neighbouring primary care trusts have granted several applications.

Now Mr Coutts has been told he can have a balloon valvuloplasty, a procedure in which a balloon is inserted through a catheter and inflated to expand the opening of the valve.

His son Douglas said Mr Coutts was prepared to try any treatment. “He’s delighted to be getting something. He said: ‘This will get worse and worse, I don’t care what happens.’ “St Thomas’ is getting good results. If he gets four more years of life, it would be quite something. If he has a year when he can move around a little better, that would be pretty good too.”

A spokeswoman for NHS Bournemouth and Poole said: “We are pleased that an alternative procedure has been identified for Mr Coutts by our local cardiologist consultants that will give him the best possible health outcomes.”