A DESPERATE man adapted tools to perform surgery on himself after the operation he needed was cancelled twice.
Graham Smith, an engineer from Lancashire, admitted it was a reckless move, but that he had become desperate after being in so much pain and discovering he had septicaemia.
Then, in 2011, he saw that some stitches from the suture had begun to poke through his skin.
It turns out that a suture was left in his abdomen.
He brought it to the attention of Aintree Hospital in Liverpool, where the original surgery took place. He did get a prescription for penicillin to battle the septicemia, a form of blood infection.
He borrowed some titanium dental tools.
He adapted the tools in order to unpick the knot of the nylon chord.
He said he had not made the decision lightly but did not want to die while on a waiting list.
Of the procedure itself he said: "There was a bit of blood and it stung a bit but I was confident in what I was doing."
"There is a high risk that the procedure could go wrong, or damage another part of the body," a spokesperson for the College said. "There is also a possibility of infection."
When it comes down to life or death, sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands.
He said he had to work hard to carefully undo 12 very tight knots, and now feels like "a new man".
Aintree Hospital in Liverpool, England, where Smith scheduled his surgery, told the "Telegraph" that he actually had an appointment for the following Monday.