A second surgeon charged after a very ill patient died four months after a bypass operation has been acquitted of causing the death through negligence.

The incident happened in September 2006 when the surgeon cleared yesterday removed what he thought was a vein from the patient’s leg to use in a heart bypass.

It later turned out that the ‘vein’ was actually an artery.

The lead surgeon in the operation was acquitted of all responsibility and exonerated last month after a magistrate found he had acted in the patient’s best interest.

The mistake, according to medical experts, occurred because of a rare medical fluke where the artery was abnormally closer to the skin rather than deeper down, the court heard. The mistake was almost immediately rectified by the doctor carrying out the bypass operation.

The court heard that the patient made a full recovery and had even started walking but, four months later, in the first week of December 2006, two of his toes turned blue and it was decided to amputate his leg.

The man was allowed to spend Christmas at home but, on Christmas Eve, his son found him lying on a sofa in a pool of blood. He died hours later in hospital.