15 July 2024
After damaging his knee in his early 20s and having had six operations, Philip Williams is delighted with his Mako robotic assisted knee replacement.
Philip, now in his fifties, works for a law firm and lives in West London. Despite having no cartilage in his right knee for over 20 years he has played rugby, cricket, football and gone skiing. He has had an ACL reconstruction and a number of arthroscopies. He was told in the past he was too young for a knee joint replacement and to hold off as long as he could and stay as fit as possible. But when the pain in his knee started keeping him awake at night, Philip decided he needed to take action.
“I saw myself in a glass panel door in the office and my leg wasn’t straight. I was also in constant pain which would wake me up in the night,” said Philip. “Mobility and doing sport are central to my wellbeing so I started making enquiries about where to go and who to see for a joint replacement. It’s important to make sure you have a successful operation and to find the best person possible to do it.”
Philip had been to Fortius Clinic for a shoulder procedure in the past. The father of one of his daughter’s friends is a surgeon at Fortius Clinic and suggested Philip see Consultant Knee Surgeon Mr David Houlihan-Burne.
Philip had an initial consultation with David, an MRI and X-ray at Fortius Clinic London. David recommended that Philip have a Mako robotic total knee replacement.
David said: “Sometimes patients come and see me too soon and they’re not suitable for a joint replacement. In Philip’s case I could tell his knee had seen much better days. It was worn out. We both agreed it was unreasonable for him to continue to live in pain. His scans and examination suggested he was the perfect candidate for a Mako robot assisted knee replacement.”
Philip was keen to have a robotic assisted operation as he could see the benefits of it.
He said: “If it can increase your chances of a good outcome why wouldn’t you have robotic surgery?”
Philip had his operation at Fortius Clinic London and saw the physiotherapist on the same day. He said he was so well looked after that he could see why people didn’t want to leave!
After a few weeks David took the staples out of Philip’s knee. Philip started having physiotherapy and is now back cycling, swimming and aiming to go skiing in the winter.
He said: “I was on the bike four weeks after my operation which was great. My key learning from this experience is you’ve got to do your rehabilitation properly. The operation gives you every chance of success but you also need to do your bit to get back your full range of motion.”