Deborah, 56, has always enjoyed pursuing an active lifestyle. She had been a competitive rower in her twenties, and later enjoyed spending her free time cycling or on the water. She sustained a knee injury following a climbing accident about twenty years ago and had a meniscus repair, but her knee had never been the same since the injury.

Deborah’s knee pain got gradually worse. About a year ago, her knee was so painful that she could barely stand when she first woke up couldn’t put any weight on her left leg. The pain prevented her from enjoying the active lifestyle she loved pursuing and she knew that she needed a solution.
Deborah was referred to a knee specialist who explained the severity of her knee problems to her and recommended that a knee osteotomy might be the best solution for her case. Because the specialist did not have the experience to carry out this operation, Deborah was referred to Professor Adrian Wilson.

She said: “Before I met Prof. Wilson I was terrified. I’d read about osteotomies online and was concerned about the recovery time I might be faced with. My advice to other patients is talk to Professor Wilson. He was honest about what was and was not possible and I was well informed about what we were trying to achieve as well as any problems. Once I’d had my first consultation it all felt more manageable.”

When Deborah met with Professor Wilson, he talked to her about the process of having an osteotomy, as well as the process of recovery and rehabilitation. The operation went well and just two days after the operation, Deborah was doing stairs with the hospital physiotherapist. Five and a half weeks post-operation, she is now walking with one crutch, and has even taken some unaided steps. She was particularly happy to have been able to straighten her leg fully, something she hadn’t been able to do before surgery and didn’t expect to be able to do after her osteotomy.

A programme of physiotherapy has aided Deborah’s recovery and her four week X-ray showed that she is almost healed – a fantastic result. She is ecstatic with her progress and said “I think Professor Wilson is a miracle worker! My scar is minimal and although I know an osteotomy is a major surgery, it really hasn’t felt that way. My post-operative pain was extremely well managed and under Prof. Wilson’s care my recovery time has been much faster than expected.”

Professor Wilson said “I’m delighted with the outcome of Deborah’s operation and her recovery. Her pain has now completely gone and she was amazed to be able to bend and fully straighten her knee. This is a great result as it means there will be much less effort involved in walking. I am so pleased to see such a fantastic result both radiologically as well as clinically for Deborah.”