THE surgeon who carried out amputations on two physically healthy men has admitted he knew in advance that one of them ran an Internet website for people

sexually interested in amputees.

Both patients were said to have had a condition called body dysmorphic disorder, a rare psychological condition which leads to sufferers focusing on a perceived imperfection of particular body parts.

The pair - one from England, the other from Germany - whose condition led them to feeling the only option was to have an amputation, were treated by consultant surgeon Robert Smith after being refused by doctors across Europe.

The two patients each had a lower leg removed at Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary - first Kevin Wright in 1997 and then a German in April last year.

But the Sunday Telegraph says Mr Wright, from Essex, is involved with a website called OverGround.

The website, which closed down last Wednesday, described itself as ''a support group for people who are attracted to those who have physical disabilities''.

Mr Smith told the newspaper that he would not have carried out the #1400 operation on Mr Wright if a sexual fetish had been a factor and denied he had been ''duped''.

''The website Mr Wright started was an information website and covered the whole spectrum of the problem, although Kevin's own problem was at the far right of the spectrum, those who want an amputation,'' said the surgeon.

''I looked at the website before I decided what I was going to do and I wanted to make sure that I was dealing with the right problem. I do not feel I have been duped.

''At the end of the day, I have done the right thing because the patient is extremely satisfied and has made a major lifestyle change for the better.''

Last week, the chairman of the NHS trust where the two operations were carried out described them as ''unacceptable''.

Mr Ian Mullen, chairman of Forth Valley Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, confirmed that no more

private patients would be allowed the operation at the hospital. But patients within the trust area would be considered if the board gave prior approval, he added.

Mr Mullen confirmed he was not consulted over the treatment.

He said: ''Treating people from outside our catchment area and even bringing them in from abroad was inappropriate and it is regrettable and unacceptable that it was not discussed with me as chairman.

''The decision was taken by the then medical director on purely medical grounds and the trust board was not approached, something we are disappointed about.

''This has had a serious effect on the reputation of this hospital and the view people take of it.

Mr Mullen said Mr Smith had followed correct procedures at the time of the operations and no action would be taken against him.