A surprise diagnosis

Leading an active life, Brett, in his fifties, knew that knee problems were almost an inevitability. In his early twenties, he had surgery to repair a torn meniscus, and he continued to have lingering knee pain. Years later, this pain suddenly got noticeably worse. He booked an appointment with Mr Jonathan Miles, his trusted orthopaedic surgeon he’d been seeing for years. “I had my first knee operation at University of Wisconsin-Madison in the States because they treat a lot of football players,” Brett explains. “When looking for someone in the UK, my feeling was that you want to see someone who treats athletes and help get them active as soon as possible, so my GP referred me to Mr Miles.”
 

Mr Miles informed Brett that he needed another meniscus repair surgery on his right knee, but an MRI also picked up further issues. “Mr Miles told me that I had arthritis on the outside of both my knees,” Brett recalls, “He wasn’t sure how long they’d last.” This surgery helped with Brett’s knee pain for a few years, but, as Mr Miles had predicted, Brett’s knees soon required further care. “I was in the gym using the hip abductor when I heard a pop,” Brett says. He wasn’t in immediate pain, but he noticed his right knee was feeling weaker.

Brett went right to Mr Miles as soon as he could about his knee. While Brett had come in about his right knee, Mr Miles thought it best to check both again with an MRI. At first, Brett thought he’d just need another meniscus repair. But as Mr Miles explained, the arthritis in both of Brett’s knees had gotten much worse – he’d need his right knee replaced imminently, followed by his left knee in the coming years.  

Robotic-assisted expertise

Wanting to get back to pain-free activity as soon as he could, Brett booked his first knee replacement at The Wellington Hospital for the month following his first appointment. Brett had a partial replacement of his right knee. Rather than his entire knee being replaced with an artificial joint, he instead just had the outside compartment of his knee replaced. The reason Brett had a partial replacement is that for the moment, it was just the lateral compartment that was damaged. This partial replacement should last Brett well into his seventies, at which point his reduced activity would mean he’d get by without the need of another. A full replacement at his current age would have a much longer recovery time and he’d likely require another full replacement when he was in his eighties.

During surgery, Mr Miles was assisted by the Mako robotic surgical system. First, a CT scan created a 3D model of Brett’s knee, which was loaded into the Mako system to generate a personalised surgical plan. This was used to accurately guide Mr Miles and the Mako robot during Brett’s surgery, minimising the damage to the tissues surrounding the knee and reducing both the time the surgery took and Brett’s recovery time after surgery.

This precision was a huge benefit for Brett, whose main priority was getting active as soon as he could after surgery. “My feeling is that you always want to push yourself as hard as you can,” Brett says. “I wanted to be swimming the week after the surgery, but I was told that wasn’t possible.” That didn’t stop Brett from pushing himself though. The day after surgery, he was walking up and down stairs. Nine days after surgery, he was starting physiotherapy, and by three weeks he was back in the pool. A full recovery would take months, but he was making a flying start.

Making a proactive health decision

Initially, Mr Miles told Brett he’d need his left knee replaced in a year or two. In Brett’s mind, he wanted to get things done as soon as possible. “I wanted the same surgeon doing both my knees, I wanted the same procedure done with the same robot, and I wanted to be fine by August,” he explains. “After I injured my right knee, I lost a lot of strength in my right leg. I didn’t want that to happen to my left leg.” Taking a proactive approach to his health, Brett discussed his next surgery with Mr Miles during his five-week checkup. “He told me he could do it the following week!” Brett recalls. “I told him I needed more than a week, so we booked it in for two weeks’ time.”

Seven weeks on from his first knee surgery, Brett had the exact same surgery performed on his other knee with Mr Miles. Having his left knee operated on first gave Brett a point of comparison for his recovery “As my right knee was getting better, I knew where my left would be seven weeks later,” Brett explains. Brett’s speedy recovery was supported by Mr Miles and his team. “He gives you the confidence to push yourself,” Brett explains. “His nursing staff and physiotherapy team are just incredible.”  But a big part of Brett’s quick recovery was his own determination. “You’ve got to push yourself,” he says. “If you don’t, it’s going to be so much slower.”

A remarkable recovery

By the summer, only a few months after his surgery, Brett was off on holiday and well into his recovery. “I was at the beach walking on uneven ground and it was fine, if not better than before the surgeries” he says. Brett’s also glad he made the decision to have the two surgeries close together. “I wouldn’t be where I am now if I’d waited,” he says. While still recovering, Brett is getting back to his normal activities, and at an impressive pace. “Mr Miles told me everything would be good by October, but by August everything was great.” Above all, Brett is incredibly grateful to be pain free and back to an active life. “I’m really happy with the outcome, and I’d do it all over again,” he says. “Nothing would hold me back.”

Click here to find out more about knee care at HCA UK, or click here to book an appointment with Mr Miles.