AN OSWESTRY man said he was left ‘flabbergasted’ to discover the gift he gave the surgeon who replaced his knees still takes pride of place in his office.

Wayne Garnett, 60, from Park Avenue, was 46 when he had the knee replacements at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital (RJAH) in Gobowen in 2010.

Wayne, who has met former USA president Bill Clinton, found out the news when he was back at RJAH for treatment, bumping into surgeon Mr Niall Graham, the man who replaced his knees.

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And he said that was amazed but delighted to discover the gift - a metal sculpture depicting a surgeon with their patient - was still in his office.

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“I had my knees replaced 14 years ago even though I was too young,” he said.

“I had a choice of hospitals and I chose RJAH and they booked me in.

“I was there for 12 days and I remember Percy the Peacock wandering around so it was good to see the metal version of him.

“I was discharged about six months later to see Mr Graham and I was so pleased with it all that I called into Blakemere Craft Centre near where I lived in Northwich.

“They make things out of nuts and bolts so I asked them to make a doctor leaning over a patient on the table.

“I took it up to him on my visit and gave it to them as a token gesture but he was overwhelmed and said he’d never had a gift like it.

“I’ve now moved to Oswestry because I met a girl and I work at the recycling centre where I had an accident.

“I had a motor cuff injury last December with a bicep drop and I had that repaired about two months ago and I was having physio.”

Wayne said that his ‘natural joke telling character’ was part of the reason why he was able to bump into the surgeon.

He said: “I used to be a stand-up and I’m always telling jokes.

“When I got back to the reception I was showing card tricks to the ladies but if I hadn’t shown them, I’d have left straight away.

“But when I was eventually leaving I went past the canteen and I saw this guy and I thought ‘I know him’.

“I went up to him and asked if he was Mr Graham and he said he was and I told him that he operated on me 14 years ago, and I bought him the gift to say thank you.

“He said ‘I’ve still got it, it’s in my office upstairs’ and then I shook hands with him and said my knees were good.

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“I couldn’t believe it – he’s still working and is still a lovely man.

“I’m so proud that he still has it – it wasn’t put to one side, he didn’t chuck it in the bin, it’s still there.”

An RJAH spokesman said: “Mr Graham was delighted to see his former patient and to have the sculpture in his office.”