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A dad-of-two whose hearted stopped following a massive heart attack came 'back from the dead' after doctors put him in an ice bath.

Dad-of-two Bulent Sonmez looked like a goner as doctors failed to restart his heart when he collapsed shortly after being admitted to hospital.

But in a last-ditch bid to get his heart beating again, medics used a controversial therapeutic hypothermia treatment to lower his body temperature to just 30C to limit the effects of a lack of oxygen on the organs.

Once Bulent's heart had been started again doctors spent around 24 hours maintaining his heart rate and returning his body temperature to normal.

But the joy of his family was short-lived as it emerged the 40-year-old could only remember around half his life and had no recollection of his wife and children.

(Image: CEN)

Bulent, from Ankara, Turkey, has since been able to piece together some of his memory following the life-saving procedure eight months ago but still has huge gaps in his recollections.

His wife Sibel Sonmez, 39, told local media: "It was like a movie, I didn't know how to explain the two children we had waiting at home.

"I tried to resolve it by showing him photographs, but it took a very long time to be able to convince him."

Medic Dr Omer Zuhtu said: "The man was released back home eight months ago and does seem to have regained much of his lost memory.

"We did not find much literature looking in detail at the side effects of therapeutic hypothermia treatment.

"It remains a controversial procedure but we believe in this case it certainly saved this man's life."

Therapeutic hypothermia treatment can be used to limit the effects of a lack of oxygen on heart attack patients but can cause severe brain damage.

It is occasionally used in the UK when written consent has been provided by next of kin.