Mr Phillipson underwent surgery last Thursday

John Phillipson, 73, from Watford was the first patient to benefit from the new procedure at London's Harefield Hospital last week.

Mr Phillipson, a keen golfer, underwent a single heart bypass last Thursday.

He was given an epidural to numb those parts of his body surgeons were going to operate on.

Since he was not given a conventional anaesthetic, he was able to remain awake throughout the operation.

It didn't feel strange at all

Surgeons asked Mr Phillipson to tell them a joke as he lay on the operating table waiting for the surgery to start.

"The surgical team wanted me to tell them some jokes," he told the BBC.

"I didn't quite understand why. I thought, I can't tell them any dirty jokes because nurses were present.

"So I will try to tell them a nice clean golfing joke. I think I muffed it in the end but it seemed to satisfy them."

Wide awake

The surgeons then started work on repairing the damaged artery.

"I was tested with what felt like an ice cube to make sure that the epidural had taken effect in the right area, so they knew they could start operating.

"Once they decided everything was frozen, then the operation started. I didn't even know it had started."

Mr Phillipson was quite happy to stay awake throughout the operation. "It didn't feel strange at all."

In fact, he believes that staying awake is a "bonus".

Right after the operation I felt terrific. Next day, I felt really good

"My only concern with the operation was should something go wrong I wouldn't be waking up.

"With the epidural I was already awake so I was bound to be awake when the operation was over. So in those terms, the operation was a bonus."

The surgery was completed within just one hour. Mr Phillipson says he didn't feel a thing.

"It was like nothing was happening. I didn't feel anything. It was just like a routine operation. I was conscious," he says.

"It was a lot shorter than I anticipated."

Mr Phillipson left hospital just two days after the operation.

"I expected to be in hospital for four or five days at least and I expected to be in pretty rough shape afterwards with a long convalescence.

"But right after the operation I felt terrific. Next day, I felt really good."

Mr Phillipson is recovering well and expects to be back on the golf course within weeks.

"I feel better than I expected so I expect my recovery to be quicker.

"I have to be guided by the doctors in what they suggest I can and can't do so that I don't do anything silly because I feel I can do anything I would do normally," he says.

"I think it's going to be about six weeks before I can get back onto maybe the golf range to hit a few balls and from there progress to the next stage, where I can maybe play a few holes or even walk the golf course with my friends at the golf club and then eventually get back into full time playing."

Check-ups

Mr Phillipson will have a check-up in two weeks and will see doctors again a fortnight later. He says he is delighted with the operation.

"It's uncomfortable at the moment because there's been an incision in my chest and I have to recover from that," he says.

"But basically I feel it has done a good job and I will be better in the long run for it. It will last longer than conventional methods so I'm delighted."

Mr Phillipson was only told he was the first Briton to undergo this type of procedure after the event. But he has nothing but praise for his surgeons.

He also believes that other patients will benefit from the procedure.

"I think they will benefit a lot because the recovery is so much better than what I've seen other people having heart operations have to go through," he says.

"I think it's a very good procedure."