A GRANDFATHER had a successful operation but suffered a heart attack the following day and died, an inquest heard.

Maurice Walker, aged 77, from Celebration Court, Bradeley, developed kidney failure in 1996 and successfully had dialysis at his home for many years.

Originally from Ramsgate in Kent, Mr Walker was evacuated to Stoke-on-Trent as a child, later becoming a pottery slip house manager.

The inquest heard that Mr Walker prided himself on managing his kidney condition.

However, his prostate gland became very enlarged and it started to affect his quality of life, so doctors decided to operate.

The surgery took place on November 6, 2006. Unfortunately, Mr Walker's doctors were not aware that he had a seriously enlarged heart, which was not able to cope with the aftermath of the operation.

His daughter, Jayne Marsden, said: "My father was a very independent person and he coped well with the dialysis.

"After the operation, he was telling me he was fine. The next day, he was very lethargic. He just did not look right.

"I had to leave to get my daughter from the childminder and as soon as I got home, I phoned the ward. I was going to ring back in an hour but I never got the chance – my dad had arrested and died."

The court heard that Mr Walker normally had high blood pressure but during and after the operation, it fell significantly.

Hospital staff gave him fluids to try to correct this and in the 30 hours following the operation he received nearly eight litres, which was too much for his heart.

Consultant Simon Davies said: "He appeared to be functioning much better than I would have expected in a person with that level of low blood pressure.

"The lack of response to fluid implies the heart wasn't able to increase the pressure.

"My reading of the large amount of fluid is, it was a desperate response. It would have stayed in the system and accumulated in the tissue. At some point on the day of his death, that excessive fluid became the problem."

The inquest heard that hospital staff had suspected Mr Walker had an infection from the operation or a blood clot. Because his heart problems had never been diagnosed, they did not realise the organ was failing.

If he had been put in intensive care earlier that day it would have given him a better chance but the outcome was likely to have been the same, the hearing was told.

Recording a narrative verdict North Staffordshire coroner Ian Smith said: "I remain sceptical about whether the outcome would have been any different. I suspect it would have added hours and days to his life, rather than weeks or months.

"He died as a result of a recognised complication of surgery."