However, what alarmed me the most was the realisation that much of what women are told about the risks of medical interventions during labour - things like induction, epidural anaesthesia and undergoing a c-section - are overblown.

BBC: Pregnancy advice 'scaremongering'

In an interview with the BBC, Professor Khan credited the success of the operation to his anaesthetist, Dr Mubashir Zia, who he said had made the operation possible by rendering the spine numb using an epidural, rather than by general anaesthesia.

BBC: heart op