A Wishaw dad is hoping to be saved from years of knee pain after taking part in an international transplant surgery trial.
Andrew Pollock, 29, has become the first patient in Lanarkshire to receive a replacement meniscus – a pad of knee cartilage that acts as a shock absorber.
Andrew has praised the three consultant specialist knee surgeons who performed the potentially life-enhancing surgery at University Hospital Hairmyres in East Kilbride – Mr Rahul Bhattacharyya and Mr Oliver Bailey, from NHS Lanarkshire, and Mr Simon Spencer, from NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde.
NHS Lanarkshire’s participation in the major trial reflects the commitment to innovation in clinical care and service design that is at the heart of the health board’s current drive for transformation and reform.
Dad-of-two Andrew, who’s a shift leader in a supermarket, was in work around eight years ago when he turned round and felt a “pop” in his knee.
He’d suffered a tear in his meniscus, possibly caused by regularly playing football, and needed an operation to remove half of it.
Andrew said his knee pain was particularly unbearable after he and fiancée Nicole had been running about after their young kids.
He said: “Over the years, my knee pain gradually got worse and I was warned it was likely I’d go on to have arthritis.”
Andrew said his knee pain was particularly unbearable after he and fiancée Nicole had been running about after their young kids.
“I then heard from Mr Bhattacharyya about the new trial, which involves the options of physiotherapy or surgery. I was initially placed in the physio group but it wasn’t helping that much so we then had another discussion about the surgery.
“He put me on the transplant list and it was only about two weeks later that the surgery was booked in and I was ready to go, which was great news.”
It’s now nearly five months since Andrew’s op, known as a meniscal allograft transplant.
“I wasn’t allowed to bear any weight on it and I was in a knee brace for about three months,” he said.
“I’m definitely noticing a big improvement now and I’m gradually doing more movements and activities.”
Consultant Specialist Knee Surgeon Rahul Bhattacharyya said NHS Lanarkshire is one of the areas recruiting for the trial – Meteor2 (Meniscal Transplant surgery or Optimised Rehabilitation) – coordinated by Warwick University and involving sites in the UK, Belgium, Australia and Canada.
Rahul explained: “If the meniscus is not present, the amount of load that goes through the knee is significantly increased. That means the patient’s risk of developing arthritis in the future is higher.
“Patients like Andrew are too young to have a replacement knee so they have to live with that pain until they’re older.
“The replacement meniscus procedure involves a transplant from a deceased person, and we’ll hopefully be able to show that it delays progression of arthritis in the knee.
“The trial will do a two-year follow-up of the transplant and physio patients to assess the clinical effectiveness of the operation compared to personalised knee therapy.
“The symptoms Andrew had prior to surgery, mainly pain in the outside of his knee, are almost completely settled now. His swelling has gone, he’s got full range of movement back and his wounds are all well healed.
“Andrew is happy with the progress he’s made following this surgery. As he continues with his rehab, the goal is to get him back to doing all his normal activities.
“This is a real success story for us.
“Complex surgery is all about teamwork and I’d like to thank the entire team at University Hospital Hairmyres who helped perform this procedure.
“This includes my colleagues Mr Simon Spencer and Mr Oliver Bailey and the theatre team, including scrub nurse Yvonne Jones, and the representatives from implant companies who helped organise the graft and all the kit required to carry out the surgery.”
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