Yuusuf’s Knee Arthroscopy

Read Yuusuf's Patient Story in Full

Orthopaedic injuries and, in particular, sports injuries can often lead to long-term complications if not treated properly. Whether you are an amateur enthusiast or a professional, a serious injury can be deeply frustrating and lead you to worry you may never reach full fitness again.

Injuries to the knee can be particularly problematic for any patient, let alone an athlete. Some of the fears and the journies to overcome knee problems have been outlined in a previous blog post, focusing specifically on ACL injuries. One such athlete and eventual Medbelle patient is a talented young footballer called Yuusuf.

Yuusuf’s orthopaedic journey was not a straightforward one. However, his experiences show how important it is to stay positive and keep trying to find the right surgeon. His is a story about not giving up, even if complications initially hamper a full recovery.

Yuusuf was just 16 years old when he began experiencing serious discomfort after injuring the ACL and meniscus in one knee during a game of football. Yuusuf is a keen and talented sportsman and has a whole footballing career ahead of him. Getting back to match fitness was a top priority.

Yuusuf tried several different treatment methods to recover from his injury. Yuusuf attended physiotherapy twice a month and even tried corticosteroid injections to ease the pain.

He also had two separate knee surgeries. With his first surgeon, he had an ACL reconstruction procedure. When this failed to ease his discomfort or improve his mobility, he found another surgeon and returned to the operating theatre for lateral meniscus repair.

Sadly, neither surgery remedied the problem. At this stage, even walking was difficult, and he had a limited range of motion. A return to match fitness seemed some way off, but Yuusuf was determined to make a full recovery.

Even though nearly 2 years had passed since his initial injury, Yuusuf did not give up. Eventually, he found Medbelle while researching knee surgery online. Together with a Medbelle Patient Care Adviser, he decided that Mr Paul Trikha was the right choice of consultant. Mr Trikha is an expert in knee treatments and specialises in reconstructive knee surgery and sports injuries. It felt like the perfect match.

Read Yuusuf's Patient Story in Full

Finding the right surgeon is an important part of any procedure. Of course, a surgeon’s experience ensures a higher success rate, but so does having a good patient-surgeon relationship. Patients tend to feel calmer and more positive throughout their surgery journey if they trust their surgeon and feel comfortable around them.

This is why at Medbelle, our Patient Care Advisers always keep this in mind when introducing patients to surgeons who fit their treatment needs.

Indeed, Yuusuf recalled a growing sense of optimism and positivity. He felt comfortable knowing that Mr Trikha was so experienced in dealing with his specific type of sports-related knee injury.

After a consultation and an MRI scan, Mr Trikha recommended a keyhole surgery to treat Yuusuf’s knee. Keyhole surgery is also known as arthroscopic surgery and uses very small incisions and thin tools, including a camera to treat the area. You can learn more about knee arthroscopy here.

Following his operation at the Medbelle Orthopaedics | Kingston-Upon-Thames, it was clear the procedure had been a success.

Just days after the surgery, Yuusuf recalled, “I remember the pain was minimal after surgery. I didn’t need any painkillers.”

At the time he spoke with Medbelle, it had been 6 weeks since his surgery. Yuusuf told us he is thrilled to finally walk without pain. The road to recovery continues, and he still has several physio sessions ahead of him. Nonetheless, Yuusuf is feeling stronger and optimistic about the future, and he is confident it will heal fully so he can return to playing the sport he loves.

Learn more about knee arthroscopy