I thought I would take time out from my diary blog in order to answer a bunch of questions that friends and family have asked me in the past.
Q: Was the cause a Sports Injury?
A: When I was younger, I was very active. Loved Martial Arts so trained 3-4 days a week; did this for over 12 years to a high level. I also played Soccer, Basketball for school, college and clubs. When I got older (into my 40’s) I took on Sprint Triathlons and 10k runs. The training takes its toll. Also I would consider myself overweight (or heavy boned 🙂 )
Q : You had an Arthroscopy and Debridement – thought that was the fix?
A: You would think that, but in effect brought on the pain more, my right leg became bow. (keyhole surgery where they wash lose cartilage from within the knee and shave some bone)
Q: Who recommended you for the tibial osteotomy?
A: I was undergoing Physiotherapy for my arthroscopy at the time and I complained the pain was getting worse. At this time, the physiotherapist recommended me to arrange a consultant session with a specialist, Mr Minhal Chatoo. He was doing some great work in surgeries that avoid having a knee replacement. I was referred to Mr Chatoo.
Q: What happened during the first meeting with Mr Chatoo
A : Prior to meeting with Mr Chatoo, I went for an MRI scan and a full leg X-ray (starting from my hip down to my foot – 2 X-rays merged to 1). Mr Chatoo analysed the X-ray.
On meeting with Mr Chatoo, he shared his diagnosis and then outlined the course of correction that an Osteotemy would provide and more importantly deferring a knee operation. He also shared success stories of his previous patients. He considered me as a candidate as I was young and capable of making the right recovery.
Q: At high level, what would the surgery entail?
A : I am no expert so can only share my recall…….Mr Chatoo used software to outline where a line of gravity should pass after surgery (A line should move from the hip, down the middle of the knee and to the middle of the ankle). There was a lot of wear and tear on the inside of my right leg/knee. As my leg was bow he showed me where the line of gravity was passing versus where it should be. To achieve this, he will cut my tibia and remove enough bone (in a triangle) to allow correction. Steel plates will be applied to allow the bone to grow back and straighten my leg and to conclusively reduce the pain caused the rheumatism. I was a borderline candidate but Mr Chatoo was confident of success.
Q: Why did you proceed with the Surgery, sounds painful
A: The surgeon, Mr Chatoo was the reason. He was caring, knowledgeable, confident and human. He has a great success rate and convinced me of a decent recovery.
Right, that’s it for now, I’ll post more in a few weeks. If you have questions, post them to me and I’ll add them to another post.
Will I Run Again 