An 86 year old man has become the 1,000th person to receive a new heart valve using a keyhole procedure used as an alternative to open heart surgery.

The NHS Golden Jubilee Hospital reached the milestone during International Heart Valve Disease Awareness Week.

Bill Cairns, a former farm manager from Lochgilphead in Argyll and Bute, received the treatment after one of his heart valves stopped working properly and he was deemed to be at too high risk for conventional surgery.

His new aortic heart valve was fed up through his own blood vessels into the heart after a small incision was made in his groin.

He was the 1,000th patient to receive a transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) operation at NHS Golden Jubilee in Clydebank where, on average, eight TAVI procedures are performed each week.

The procedure helps reduce symptoms including shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness and fainting. It also significantly reduces the risk of heart failure and death.

Due to the non-invasive nature of the procedure, patients can recover quickly, with an average length of hospital stay just two days.

NHS Golden Jubilee Consultant Cardiologist and Clinical Director for Cardiology, Mitchell Lindsay, says to hit the 1,000th TAVI procedure is an incredible milestone for the service.

“Bill is just one of the amazing success stories that we have witnessed thanks to the dedication of our team at NHS Golden Jubilee.

“Every life is precious and TAVI is helping keep families and loved ones together, prolonging lives and helping people like Bill stay fit and healthy for them and their loved ones when conventional surgery may not be an option.”

The operation means that Mr Cairns will be able to continue as carer for his wife.

“I was delighted that I was able to come in while I could walk in and not need to be blue-lighted in because it was getting progressively worse. It was here that they decided that I needed a valve, but that it could be done through the artery, through a TAVI operation.

“To this day I don’t understand how they get it in an artery, but they did and it couldn’t have went any smoother. It was over in 40 minutes with no pain at all!

“If I hadn't been a carer for my wife, I might have just said, ‘oh, I'm fine, it’s just old age’, but because of her I decided to do something about it. This means I’m still here for her, so I can’t thank everyone enough for that.”

The Golden Jubilee Hospital marked the 500^th TAVI procedure in April 2022.

The first centre in Scotland to offer the treatment was the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh which established a service in 2012.

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