 Poster: A snowHead
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I had a Patial Knee Replacement on Monday at Parkside with Jonathan Bell which went very well and I cannot praise him and his colleagues highly enough for the excellent job they did. THANK YOU !
My road to Parkside was not direct and I wanted to share my experience and two important lessons I learned which may help others who need knee surgery (or other treatment) in the future :
1. My problem started at the beginning of April last year when I felt pain in my knee doing a ski tour . I put it down to a sprain and basically followed my usual approach to any medical problems which was to ignore
it hope that it would go away . This time it didn't and I started limping badly so I went to a Physio after 4 weeks and got treatment to strengthen the muscles around the knee . After a few months I was mountain biking on the Downs and doing long hikes in the mountains and basically back to normal with occasional twinges of pain . LESSON 1 : I should have got my knee X RAYED at the beginning as it would have identified the loss of cartilage and arthritis in my knee much earlier. So get any knee or other problem injuries diagnosed as early as possible. I really had no idea my knee was so bad!
2.In November I did a skiing course on a Glacier and felt pain from day one and had a very swollen knee and was in considerable pain. I then went to a knee surgeon for a consultation close to where I live .
The XRay showed I had no cartilige left and arthritis and patella maltracking and the surgeon just said to continue physio and go back to him if there was too much pain and he would offer surgery.
I did this a few months later and was initially told that if I had Partial knee Replacement I would not be able to ski again !!!. This did not seem right to me as I knew from this forum and from other friends in Austria
that it is possible to ski after a partial. I was very disappointed with the consultation and I then immediately contacted Jonathan Bell and organised a second consultation. The consultation with Jonathan was excellent
as he listened to me and asked about my lifestyle and what activities I would like to do after surgery and confirmed that there would be no problem to ski after surgery subject to doing the proper rehab training .
LESSON 2 : If you want to ski or do active sports after surgery go to a Surgeon that specializes in sports injuries not a general knee surgeon.
If you live in the South I cannot recommend Wimbledon clinics highly enough.
They have a much better understanding of what you want to achieve and will help you achieve it.
My travel time of aprox 2hours to get to Wimbledon (vs 20mins to my local surgeon) has been well worth it and I only regret not going there in the beginning!
Of course I realise that many of you are much more sensible than me and would have done this anyway! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Oh. lordy, I am so relieved, I thought this was going to be a junior surgeon's report on an op that he'd just done, you know, standard medic teaching ... ... "see one, do one, teach one"
It would be a funny place to post it, but you never know...
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Possibly worth shelling for an early MRI as they seem much more reliable than X rays
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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brnttptr, excellent advice about making sure you see a surgeon specialising in Sports Injuries, and then get op done by surgeon who specialises in knees.
I am astounded by the number of people who think a surgeon can be expert in all areas.
Hip or knee surgeons can not do shoulder surgery, and vice versa.
Also: make sure you ask all the questions when you see the surgeon in the outpatient department.
It is remarkably common for snowheads here to ask questions on the forum they should have asked the surgeon.
The minimum set of questions here: Questions to Ask Before Surgery
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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brnttptr, great feedback. I was told that I would eventually need a KR as a result of injury. I'm hopign to stave it off for many years...but I hope that Jonathan Bell is still practising then (he's younger than me so fingers crossed  )
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Fri 11-04-14 13:22; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
| LESSON 1 : I should have got my knee X RAYED at the beginning as it would have identified the loss of cartilage and arthritis in my knee much earlier. So get any knee or other problem injuries diagnosed as early as possible. I really had no idea my knee was so bad! |
Not sure it is so simple.
Good post and thread though.
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Thanks for the report brnttptr, i am in a similar place myself with knee deliberations....can i ask how old you are?. I am 58 and the consensus seems to be to hang on an wait a few years but I am worried I will begin to lose fitness due to not being able to do things. I think it will be difficult to get back to where I am now if that happens.
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Lynnecha I am 54 . Why hang on ? Life is too short to suffer in pain and not be able to do the things you want to do ! In my case I think the knee replacement will last 10-15 years so at 64-69 I will need a revision to a Total knee which, even assuming I get that far, will be the last one.
I have a good friend in the Tyrol who worked as a nurse for 5 years in the knee unit of Salzburg hospital where they do large numbers of skiing related knee replacements and repairs and she told me every patient she saw who had delayed the op had wished they had had it done much earlier.
Layne :
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| Not sure it is so simple. |
I think it is that simple i.e my point is to get the problem properly looked at as soon as possible and diagnosed with Xray or MRI so you know what you are dealing with .Better safe than sorry !
Of course the diagnosis may not be as clear cut as mine ,so it that respect ,I agree it may not be simple but at least if you get it looked at properly early you know how to start to resolve the problem. 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Thanks brnttptr, this conversation is very timely! Hope the rehab goes well.
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As an ancient person with slightly (so far!) dodgy knees, who wants to go on skiing indefinitely, I am immensely grateful that I live but a stone's throw from Wimbledon! 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| under a new name wrote: |
Oh. lordy, I am so relieved, I thought this was going to be a junior surgeon's report on an op that he'd just done, you know, standard medic teaching ... ... "see one, do one, teach one"
It would be a funny place to post it, but you never know... |
I actually learned by a similar route " see one, do one, do many"
Peter, thank you for your very kind words. Work hard at physio we need you on skiis by end if the year!
Jonathan Bell
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