A surgeon who left a patient brain damaged after a routine nose operation has apologised to the family for the first time, after seven years.

Ear, nose and throat specialist George Murty accidentally poked a hole the size of a 10p piece in Peter Rogers's skull during the operation, it is claimed.

Murty wrongly diagnosed the bleeding in the brain as a spontaneous stroke instead of damage caused during surgery, the General Medical Council has heard.

Giving evidence at a hearing in London, the Glasgow-trained consultant accepted responsibility for the damage, which has ruined the 61-year-old's eyesight, memory and concentration.

He said: "I made a mistake, I was wrong. I was responsible for this tragic bleed and the responsibility for causing it was entirely mine."

"I apologise to Mrs Rogers, Mr Rogers and the family for all the distress I caused and for failing to pick it up."

Mr Rogers, of Weston by Welland, near Market Harborough, went into the Bupa Hospital, in Oadby, on May 30, 2002, for a surgery to remove diseased sinus tissue.

Murty faces 11 charges relating to the operation and failure to recognise the surgical trauma.

He has admitted breaching the base of Mr Rogers's skull with forceps during the procedure.

The surgeon accepted for the first time that his vision was blurred by blood during the operation.

Stephen Miller QC, defending the surgeon, asked: "Do you accept that, having come to that degree of bleeding, you should not have gone ahead with the procedure until it was under control?"

"I do now," Murty said. "It is not always a case of you can see or you can't. One second you will see and one second you won't. The amount of blood will vary.

"It is a judgement and I made the wrong judgement – tragically."

Murty blamed the wrong diagnosis of a stroke on colleagues, the GMC heard.

When Mr Rogers woke up from surgery unable to move his right arm and leg, he was sent for a CT scan.

This was ordered by radiologist Dr Nicholas Messios, Murty claims, who ruled out any damage as a result of the operation.

Dr Messios was "significantly older" and he trusted his experience, Dr Murty told the panel.

'How convincing was Dr Messios?' Mr Miller asked.

"He convinced me," Murty replied. "I specifically asked about it and he gave me an answer which convinced him and convinced me at the time."

Mr Rogers was transferred that day to the Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, for neurological care.

Murty said their specialists should have correctly diagnosed the problem.

The hole in Mr Rogers's skull was only discovered when an Australian radiologist family friend flew over from Melbourne to review the scans and request further X-rays.

Murty said he regrets not requesting further scans himself.

He denies his surgical technique was inadequate or significantly below the expected standard.

He denies failing to provide good clinical care and that his fitness to practice is impaired.

If found guilty, he faces being banned from practising as a doctor.

Mr Rogers won a civil claim for negligence against the Bupa hospital, in 2005, and was awarded £1.32m.

The hearing continues.