The implant – the size of a 2p coin – is now available to NHS patients suffering from heart valve disease, in which the valves that control the flow of blood through the heart function poorly and may leak.
The new procedure is minimally invasive allowing the patient walk within hours of the operation, unlike the earlier technique which required muscles to be cut apart.
Official figures show that more than 26,000 lower-limb amputations were carried out in England as a result of complications stemming from diabetes between 2014 and 2016.
Paul Griffiths, 67, a semi-retired estimating engineer from Keynsham, near Bristol had a urinary problem caused by an enlarged prostate. It was treated using a high-speed water jet.
Steve Neary, 36, a tree surgeon from Winchester, ripped through his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which supports the knee and joins the shin to the thigh bone, while playing football.
Grandfather-of-seven Andrew Smith, 71, a retired chartered accountant from Truro in Cornwall, was one of the first UK patients to have the microcomputer fitted inside his heart.
Emma Mayamine was diagnosed four years ago with scoliosis - a condition in which the spine starts to grow unevenly and curves to one side. After having the procedure last November, she’s 2in taller.
The portable gadget, which is not much bigger than a ballpoint pen, slashes the time patients need to spend in hospital from three or four days to under an hour.