"
CONTACT US
29.06.2021 11:00

“I was heading for a full knee replacement at 26. Mr Trikha and Schoen Clinic London saved me from that.”

Sports Therapist, Tilly, sustained a knee injury five years ago and has stuggled with pain ever since. She'd partially torn her ACL and undergone two surgeries to try and resolve the problem, but unfortunately these were unsessful. Tilly found a solution to her pain when she came to see Mr Paul Trikha at Schoen Clinic London. One month after her third surgery she shares her story and explains why she wishes she'd come to Schoen Clinic sooner.

Five years ago, I was living life to the full – I played squash to a high level, competed in gruelling triathlons and was studying for a career in Sports Therapy. Everything was going well until I had an accident that would change my life in so many ways. This wasn't any great, dramatic accident either; my first and only injury was caused by me jumping off a pavement curb.

The damage was dramatic, though. I had to slow down my active life and stop all sports as the pain was just too much. Meanwhile, trying to definitively find out exactly what had happened to my knee was much more difficult that I thought it would be. I had three MRI scans, one of which showed that my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) was partially torn, the other two showed that everything seemed normal.

I persevered with the doctors and went on to have two surgeries on my knee. Both times the surgeons struggled to know what to do with it as my ACL was only partially torn and not fully ruptured. In the end, both surgeons didn't want to repair the ACL so they smoothed out the knee, which did relieve the pain for a while each time.

I found that my knee wasn't stable though and so I did a lot of research into knee specialists and found Mr Paul Trikha at Schoen Clinic London. Although I live in Lincolnshire, I felt that because the hospital is dedicated to helping patients solely with spinal and orthopaedic problems, this was the place and the doctor for me.

Paul did a thorough examination of my knee – something that hadn't happened up to this point, he confirmed the clinical findings and diagnosis and went through the treatment plan. I was relieved to know that he had looked at it properly, being a Sports Therapist myself, I know what a proper examination looks like.

Paul gave me options as to what we could do next. I could have surgery with the chance that my problem was permanently fixable, or I could wear a specialist brace to stabilise and strengthen my knee. Because I'd had previous surgeries that were fairly traumatic and unsuccessful, I was keen to use the brace. At this point I couldn't even walk my dog, working shorter clinics with my clients and not sleeping. Life was miserable.

 

I wore the brace for 6 months but it didn't make enough of a difference to warrant me carrying on so I went back to Paul and said that I wanted the surgery. When booking the surgery, every little detail was covered and everything was explained thoroughly. The service was truly incredible and when you're dreading surgery like I was, this is honestly such a comfort.

The hospital itself is very calming and peaceful which is a world away from what I'm used to. Every member of staff I met was incredible; they're so efficient and very kind and caring. Because of my previous experiences, I was inevitably nervous before surgery. What if it didn't work again? But a very kind nurse sat me down and completely calmed me – thanks to him, I trusted everyone and felt ready to go into theatre. And thank goodness I did.

I'm now a month on from surgery (July 2021) and have had my first check-up with Paul. He is very happy with my recovery and has offered lots of support to help me get to where I want to be. To my absolute delight, Paul is working closely with my Physio in London to make sure I have the best rehab plan possible, which makes life so much easier.

I don't think I understood how much my knee was impacting my life, but now everything has changed. For the first time in five years, I can go up and down stairs with zero pain. From the way I take my shoes off, to how I treat my patients – this surgery has changed my life.

The thought of leading a normal life again makes me so happy. My only regret is not having the surgery years ago!

Tilly was treated by Mr Paul Trikha, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon (Knee) at Schoen Clinic Orthopaedic and Spinal Hospital London. Use your private medical insurance or self-fund your treatment with convenient payment plans.