AN Abbeydale man who was told by the NHS he was too overweight for the double hip and knee replacements he desperately needed has had life-changing surgery in India.

David Rogers, 62, was "thrown on the scrapheap by the NHS" after being told that at 22 stone, he was at least six stone too heavy for surgery.

The need for treatment was even more urgent because Mr Rogers and his wife Veronica have a severely disabled 19-year-old foster son who needs constant care and attention.

But despite getting down to 18 stone, Mr Rogers struggled to shed the further two stone necessary for surgery because his painful joints rendered him immobile.

"I was in so much pain I couldn't lie in bed at night and had to sleep sitting in a chair. It was a vicious cycle because I couldn't do any exercise, so I struggled to lose any more weight," said the granddad from Dolphin Road.

But then his wife saw a television programme about Britons flying to India for medical treatment.

Further investigations led her to the website for OperationIndia, which offers people access to top-class medical treatment in India and emailed London-based general manager Jane Ferguson.

Mrs Ferguson explained: "We started to communicate with one another in September and a month later, when I was over in India, I met Dr Nagaraj at a medical conference and I realised he was someone I could work with. I thought of David straight away."

The following month, during a visit to the UK, Dr Nagaraj met Mr Rogers for the first time, along with Mrs Ferguson.

The former senior nurse said: "I only needed to look at the man to see he was in agony. We got to him just in the nick of time. Dr Nagaraj said six months later and he would have been crippled for life."

Mr Rogers said: "I couldn't believe it - a surgeon actually came to my house, all the way from India. He put me at ease straight away and asked when I could go over for the operations."

Just two weeks later, Mr Rogers flew out to the Deepak Hospital, Dr Nagaraj's family's hospital in Bangalore, for the first phase of major surgery - to reconstruct the knee and hip on the right side, at a cost of £10,000.

"I can't speak more highly of the nurses and surgeons there. The treatment I received was first class," said Mr Rogers.

And despite two lengthy, complicated operations, by the middle of December he was enjoying some relaxation time at a nearby retreat.

He returned to Redditch on January 11 and has not looked back since.

"I can't believe the difference it has made to my life," said Mr Rogers, who is preparing for a return trip to India next January for work on the other hip and knee.

"I would recommend treatment over there to anyone."

Mrs Ferguson said: "David's is a story of sheer determination. He had been thrown on the scrapheap by the NHS, yet he refused to give up hope that things could get better."

For more details on OperationIndia visit www.operationindia.co.uk or healthcareindialtd.com