A NEWPORT man is not letting a triple heart bypass stop him, after starting back at work just a month following the major operation.

Owner of Cat’s Whiskers salon on Archibald Street, Barry Kelly, 69, underwent the operation on April 3 at Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales.

But on May 3, he was back doing the job he has loved for the past 55 years.

Mr Kelly first started suffering from pains in his chest two years ago. He was referred to Newport’s Royal Gwent Hospital by his GP, where doctors suggested monitoring his heart by putting a camera through a vein in his leg. Not wanting to undergo this, Mr Kelly carried on and felt better in the summer, when the pains didn’t seem to be as bad.

But then in January last year, the chest pains returned, leading to Mr Kelly undergoing the procedure in June, when doctors discovered he had three blocked valves. Following further treatment, doctors told Mr Kelly the only option was a triple heart bypass.

He said: “I had 12 days in hospital, then two weeks in the sunshine and then I was back in work. I love my job and I wasn’t going to let this operation stop me. I just want people to know I am here if they are going through the same thing and have any questions.”