The incident happened at Derriford Hospital

According to officials at Derriford Hospital, the table top became detached during the course of the operation.

The surgeon is believed to have called on other staff to steady the table while he completed the procedure.

The elderly woman died three days later. However, there is no evidence yet that her death is connected to problems with the table.

The Coroner's Office has confirmed that a post mortem has taken place. An inquest into the case is expected to open early next week.

The incident has prompted managers at Derriford Hospital to cancel all non-urgent heart operations while the equipment is examined.

This is the second time in the space of a week that the hospital has hit the headlines.

Last week, a surgeon who had worked at the trust told an industrial tribunal he had been asked to use a desert spoon to perform a hip operation.

Technical problem

This latest incident occurred last Thursday. Officials from the government's Medical Devices Agency have visited the hospital as part of their own investigation into the incident.

In a statement, the hospital said it was working to ensure operations could resume as soon as possible.

The Medical Devices Agency is aware of the incident and is investigating Department of Health spokeswoman

"Use of this type of operating table has been suspended in all three of the hospital's cardiothoracic theatres whilst an internal investigation takes place."

It added: "Elective heart operations have been suspended whilst the investigation continues. Emergency heart surgery is being carried out using a different operating table.

"In order to avoid any further delay the Trust has authorised the immediate replacement of the theatre tables involved. We are working with the suppliers to have the tables replaced by the weekend."

Mr Terence Lewis, a heart surgeon at the hospital, said they were determined to find out what happened.

"We don't know whether this is a design fault, whether it's a maintenance problem or whether we were using it in an inappropriate way," he told the BBC.

"We will get to the bottom of this but at the moment we don't know what caused it."

The Department of Health confirmed that the matter is being investigated.

A spokeswoman said: "The Medical Devices Agency is aware of the incident and is investigating alongside the manufacturer and the trust.

"An MDA product specialist has visited the hospital as part of the investigation and as soon as they have any conclusions, they will issue advice to the health service accordingly."