Keith Holdsworth, 62, from Guisborough, has ground-breaking surgery at The James Cook University Hospital (From The Northern Echo)

Keith Holdsworth, 62, from Guisborough, has ground-breaking surgery at The James Cook University Hospital

8:15am Friday 5th February 2010

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A MAN whose cancer would once have been terminal is now making plans to visit the Australian granddaughter he has never met following ground-breaking surgery.

When Keith Holdsworth was diagnosed with lung cancer the prognosis was bleak.

The tumour was impacting on his spine which meant, under normal circumstances, it could not be removed and was inoperable.

The only treatments available were palliative care, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

But a year ago, a team of consultants at The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, developed a procedure offering the best chance of a cure.

Jonathan Ferguson, cardiothoracic surgeon, Simon Tizzard, consultant neurosurgeon, and Keith Allison, consultant in plastic and reconstructive surgery, have now performed the radical seven-hour procedure on three men in their 60s from the North-East.

Some ribs and part of the spine are removed to take out the tumour before the missing chest wall is replaced by plastic mesh and the remaining hole is covered up by rotating the patient’s muscles.

Mr Holdsworth, 62, from Guisborough, in east Cleveland, spent only 11 days in hospital following the pioneering surgery last August.

“After being told I had cancer, I was told the options ranged from doing nothing to this surgery,” he said. “The operation was a cure but the others were just delaying tactics.

“Mr Ferguson convinced me first time that this was the only route I could take, and I had no qualms about it.”

Mr Holdsworth said he was delighted with the success of the procedure and was eager to living a full life again.

He said: “I’m hoping to get back to work as a security guard and I’m aiming to fly to Sydney to meet my granddaughter, Georgia, who turns one in June. I have a lot to look forward to.”

His son, Rob, who has accompanied Mr Holdsworth to all his hospital appointments praised the extensive medical team who cared for his father.

He said: “Just a couple of years ago it would have been like the Countdown clock. We are over the moon that he could have this life-saving surgery and is on the mend.”

Mr Ferguson said that the James Cook was only one of a select few hospitals in areas across the country, including Newcastle, offering the cutting-edge service.

“While it won’t be suitable for every patient, we anticipate two or three people each year may have this type of surgery,” he added.

“Before we formed this team, this type of cancer would have been incurable and, while you can never guarantee an absolute cure for cancer, this operation does offer the best chance of a cure.”

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