Mr Wood paid almost �9,000 for his operation in Belgium

Peter Wood, 65, from Heavitree, Devon, travelled abroad in May after booking his knee replacement operation on the internet.

But he now has a cracked thigh bone and a serious leg infection.

Surgeons at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital are now warning patients to be wary of going abroad for treatment.

They say the NHS now faces a huge bill to treat Mr Wood's problems.

They also say it was unnecessary for Mr Wood to have a full knee replacement.

If the infection doesn't go the leg will come off, which is quite a big thing Peter Wood

The Devon pensioner will now spend up to three months at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (RD&E) - the same British hospital he spurned - and has been warned surgeons may have to amputate his leg if the infection cannot be controlled.

The RD&E has waiting lists of up to nine months for orthopaedic surgery.

The hospital says Mr Wood was receiving treatment for an existing knee infection and was not on the waiting list.

It says doctors did not consider a knee replacement necessary and would have treated Mr Wood's problem by other means which may not have included surgery.

A hospital spokesman said: "Our waiting times vary, but where an operation is urgent it will be carried out within days, at most weeks."

Mr Wood's thigh bone was broken when he walked on it while it was infected.

He said: "If the infection doesn't go the leg will come off, which is quite a big thing.

"I am angry about what has happened to me and would warn other people against going abroad and risking the same thing happening."

Mr Wood paid almost �9,000 for the surgery and follow-up checks at the Belgian hospital.

Great expense

RD&E consultant Keith Eyres said although some specialists abroad are very capable, they are unable to carry out the necessary follow-up work.

He said: "The patient then comes back to our health authority and requires three or four operations to put it right, at great expense to the NHS."

Mr Eyres says his message to people waiting for surgery is not to be tempted by short-term fix procedures which could cause the added problems.