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Professor Chris Lavy has been nominated as a Hospital Hero by cyclist who he operated on. The grateful patient, Professor Lee Sweetlove, has raised money for a charity Professor Lavy is involved in by cycling through the Dolomites as well as nominating him for the award.

Professor Chris Lavy has been nominated for the Hospital Heroes awards, which celebrate the outstanding achievements of both individuals and teams, whether they are working directly with patients or behind the scenes. Also a surgeon at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Professor Lavy operated on Professor Lee Sweetlove, an Oxford University professor of plant sciences and keen mountain biker who broke his back in two places in a cycling accident in 2010. Professor Sweetlove made a full recovery and is now nominating the surgeon who made it possible.

Professor Lavy said that he was "overwhelmed" to be nominated and added: "It is the most brilliant thing to see someone who is injured and can hardly move through some surgery and to get them walking again."

As a thank-you, last September Professor Sweetlove cycled 16 mountain passes with two friends over about 250 miles in the Italian Dolomites in five days to raise £2,880 for a charity set up by Prof Lavy. Beit CURE International Hospital sees more than 20,000 children a year for conditions like clubfoot in Malawi, Africa, where Prof Lavy worked for a decade.

Prof Sweetlove said: "He really went above and beyond the call of duty. Leading up to the original surgery I saw numerous doctors and he was the first to show complete control of what he was doing and also real human compassion."

With a risk of paralysis from the surgery, he said the doctor's manner was key, adding: "He knew what I was going through."

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