A THREE-YEAR-OLD boy has undergone pioneering surgery to stop his heart pumping blood the wrong way round his body.

Alec Hutchinson was born with a rare condition that means the blood vessels in his heart are back to front.

The life-threatening abnormality meant he was given no chance of survival.

But four weeks ago, Alec endured eight hours of surgery to reverse his blood flow and is on the road to recovery.

His condition, called congenitally corrected transposition, was corrected by a procedure to turn his heart around.

It was the first time experts at the Freeman Hospital, in Newcastle, had carried out the complicated surgery, but following its success, they will offer it to other youngsters.

Alec is now recovering at home with parents Lynne Hall and Brian Hutchinson, in Dipton, County Durham.

Mr Hutchinson, 41, a maintenance engineer, said: "Alec is back to his old self, bossing everybody around. He has been a brave lad.

"He would not speak to us for about five days after the operation. He had been kept under anaesthetic for five-and-a-half days, but he soon came round.

"We are just so pleased to have him back. Since the operation he has been able to ride his bike again."

Mrs Hutchinson, 30, a nursery assistant, said: "I am over the moon now it is all over. He is back to his cheeky little self. We would just really like to say thank-you to everybody who supported us. Alec's grandparents have been great."

Doctors discovered Alec had the condition when he was five weeks old. An operation was carried out to improve his condition, and his parents were told he would need the major operation while he was still young.

Mr Hutchinson said: "Everyone thought it was just a viral infection at first, but we knew something was wrong. He was just crying all the time and it was as if he was panting for breath.

"They ran tests and eventually found he had an irregular heartbeat. Then we were told things were bad."

Alec was taken from the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham, to the cardiology ward at the Freeman Hospital, where the family met surgeon Dr Asif Hasan.

Alec was closely watched, with many appointments over many months until the operation was performed.

Everything went to plan and now Alec has been reunited with his sister, Lauren, eight, and will return to his nursery at Burnopfield Primary School soon.

Dr Hasan said: "Alec's heart was pretty scrambled really. We had to switch the blood vessels around so his heart was correctly connected. It was a big operation, but it went well and was better than we expected. He was out of intensive care quickly and now he is home.