Surgeons at Northwick Park Hospital made sure the grandfather of a bride-to-be would be on time for her special party after he was knocked down with a stroke the day before.
Jaysukh Bulsara's granddaughter Karishma Parmar had already cancelled her engagement party once after a death in the bridegroom's family.
She was prepared to put it back again unless her beloved grandfather could attend.
"I wasn't going to let a stroke stop me," said the 73 year-old, of Eastcote Avenue, Wembley, who asked surgeons at the Watford Road hospital if there was anything they could do - and quickly.
After he was admitted to the stroke unit, an earlier scan revealed a blood clot in one of the major arteries in his neck.
Vascular surgeon Nung Rudarakanchana agreed to perform the two-and-a-half hour procedure under local anaesthetic and Jaysukh was discharged the next morning in time for the party that same afternoon.
Jaysukh, who used to play for Ugandan national football team before moving to the UK in the 1970s, admitted he couldn't indulge in one of his favourite pastimes.
"Singing was off the agenda," said the karaoke fan, "but there were a few tears all round when I turned up with the wife.
"Karishma is our first granddaughter so I was determined to be there for her."
Miss Rudarakanchana said: "We know patients benefit from this operation if it is done as soon as possible following a stroke and we have a great team at the West London Vascular and Interventional Centre dedicated to looking after patients with carotid artery disease.
"We all met to discuss Mr Bulsara's case at Friday lunchtime and by that afternoon I had him in theatre.
"I think the patient was more concerned about letting his granddaughter down than the procedure. He took it all in his stride, despite the fact that we had cut the side of his neck open to remove the clot."
The stroke service at the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWUH) is rated as "the best in the country" said a spokesperson and St Mark's Hospital is an internationally renowned specialist centre for colorectal disease, based at Northwick Park Hospital.
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