A HOSPITAL patient called Lee Dixon got a life-saving operation after a top doctor confused him with the Arsenal footie legend.
Antiques dealer Lee had been admitted following a when he was visited by the cardiologist who was hoping to meet .
Despite his disappointment, the doctor decided to examine Lee, 54, and discovered a strawberry-sized on his .
The anomaly had been missed by junior colleagues in — who wanted to send Lee home.
And there were no ambulances available to take Lee to Derriford Hospital in for surgery until another staff member — also a huge fan — rearranged the schedule to transfer him urgently.
Lee, who lives in Buckfastleigh, , with his partner Denise Channing, was operated on the next day and made a full recovery.
He now runs Dixon’s Real Deal, a shop selling second-hand equipment and antique bottles in .
The dad of two, who served in the as a radio operator, admitted he has never watched a footie match and prefers .
He said: “Undoubtedly my name saved my life. It was a total fluke — I was about to be discharged when the doctor came in saying he was a massive Arsenal fan and heard I was Lee Dixon.
“Obviously he saw I wasn’t but decided while he was there to have a look at my heart.
“He looked shocked when he found a lump the size of a large strawberry and just said, ‘You are not being discharged today, we need to get you in for emergency surgery’.
“The funny thing is I’m not even a fan. I remember once seeing Lee on .
“I never get bored of people commenting on it, it’s a bit of a laugh and I like to think people occasionally mix us up but he’d have to gain a bit of weight for that to happen.”;
Lee says customers at Dixon’s Real Deal also joke about TV antiques expert David Dickinson, who presented .
He said: “I get a few jokes with customers saying, ‘I thought you’d be more orange’, but it’s all good fun and I’m just happy being me.
Right-back Dixon, 61, retired in 2002 after 14 years at Arsenal and works as an analyst for ITV Sport and NBC Sports Soccer in the US.
He won four league titles and three with the club.
Asked if he has a message for the star, Lee, who is fully recovered from his 2015 op, said: “I’d just like to say thank you for being who you are — I owe you one.”;
