A GRANDMOTHER has undergone a pioneering operation which could help thousands of patients with kidney disease.

Norma Fenton, 63, of Roundhills, Waltham Abbey, has had a tiny metal tube inserted to connect her kidney to her bladder.

The device is usually used to help clear blocked arteries in heart patients, but its successful use in treating Norma has seen been heralded as a significant breakthrough in urology.

Consultant urologist Noor Buchholz said: "Norma's stent is an example of how far technology has come in impacting on patients' quality of life.

"The beauty is that it is so easy to put in, but also easy to remove, should the need arise.

"And that means patients can have these stents to hold open their urinary tract without the need for complex surgery."

Norma, a retired clothes machinist and grandmother of seven who has lived with her husband David, 64, in Waltham Abbey for 35 years, is one of only a handful of patients nationwide to undergo the procedure.

She had the custom-made mesh tube - about 20cm long and 3.5mm wide - carefully inserted into her one remaining kidney and shaped with heat during a minimally invasive operation at the world-leading Barts and The London Renal Centre in December.

Without it she would have to have dialysis twice a week, and doctors say it will save her from about 30 trips to hospital over the next five years.

Norma, who has diabetes, arthritis, and a hiatus hernia, said: "This stent has made such a difference to my life. Without this metal tube I'd have to be on dialysis. It's comfortable and allows permanent drainage of my one remaining kidney.

"Previously I was on a plastic alternative and that meant having a general anaesthetic and spending three days in hospital every six months to have it changed. But it's perfect for me now because I don't have to get it replaced."