FATHER-OF-THREE Tom Fox has just completed a marathon less than two years after he had a heart operation involving five bypasses.

Mr Fox, 48, from Chapel Plaister, near Box, said his speedy recovery was down to the pioneering operating technique he underwent.

With the support of his Bristol surgeon, Franco Ciulli, he is now keen to help others realise that there is an active life after heart surgery.

"Heart surgery doesn't have to change your life," he said.

Mr Fox, who runs a dental practice in Corsham, discovered he had a problem when he was preparing to run the 2001 London Marathon. He found he was having trouble breathing when running and thought he had a chest infection.

His doctor in Box investigated and months later he was diagnosed with a genetic heart condition.

"I was younger than most heart operation patients. I was not quite sure how badly is would affect me," he said.

But despite the serious nature of his condition he always remained positive.

He said: "I was determined that I would not let the heart problem change my lifestyle."

Because the problem was genetic Mr Fox's close family also has to be checked out. His identical twin brother, Peter, however, did not have the same problem.

Mr Fox's 19-year-old son Tom and his uncle, Michael, 39, who works with Mr Fox in the dental practice, were also cleared.

Mr Fox, who has a wife, Gill, and two daughters, Claire, 17, and Rachel, 13, was on a waiting list for six months but decided to get private treatment.

"I had chest pain and spent a weekend in the Royal United Hospital, Bath, and missed one of my daughter's birthday. The rest of the family said, 'let's find the money and get something done otherwise it will be another nine to six months before the operation'."

A year after his first visit to the doctor, Mr Fox went into surgery at the private BUPA hospital in Bristol.

He said: "I did not know until the night before that I was having five bypasses.

"It was the first significant surgery I have ever had, but I had every confidence in the staff because they made a complicated procedure sound so normal."

The operation he underwent was different to the more widely used method of a heart-lung machine.

Rather than having a machine breath for him, surgeons operated on Mr Fox's beating heart and separated off the areas they were working on.

"It reduces the risk of having a stroke in the future and makes recovery easier and quicker," said Mr Fox.

He praised the unique surgery and said any procedure that quickened recovery was a great benefit.

He even jokes about the experience now and boasts that he has never met anyone who has had as many bypasses as him.

When he was released from hospital, Mr Fox did gentle exercises such as walking, but it was not long before he had his running shoes back on again.

He said: "Every time I went for a walk I would see if I could go a bit further.

"I had the operation at the end of July and I was back running again five weeks later."

Mr Fox is now back to running three or four times a week.

He thinks nothing of covering a distance of 30 miles in his local area.

The Paris Marathon in April was his first full marathon since his operation.

Mr Fox completed the race and felt so fit that he beat his previous record by 25 minutes.

He said: "I ran the race with my twin brother who lives in Paris. I ran it in four hours and 12 minutes."

Although he is now completely fit and well again he has made minor changes to his lifestyle.

He will have to take tablets every day for the rest of his life and has had to alter his diet.

"No chips, chocolate or cheese. The latter is hard because I ate a lot of cheese before. It spoils my trips to France a little bit," he said.

He also admitted that he does worry about whether it will ever happen again, but is hopeful that he will have no further problems.

He is now preparing for next year's London Marathon where he hopes to break the four-hour barrier.

He wants to raise money from his efforts for the British Heart Foundation.