Trying to contact ListGroup Memeber (Female) Re: Knee - Considering Fusion, or possibly Amputation

[Guest guest]

Some time in the near past one of the Ceda family, a woman, posted an email

and somewhat outlined the state of your knee. You were very concerned in

having to make a decision on having your joint fused, or at extremes,

choosing an amputation.

In 2000, I had the same, very hard decision to make. Could not find a

surgeon who would touch my knee, either to fuse it, or amputate it above the

knee. I was at one point told by the Chief of Orthopedics at our largest

local hospital that if I were a horse, it would be an easy decision for him

to make about my grave situation; he stated that the kindest thing he could

think of to do for me would be to put a bullet in my head.

I was trying to find a surgical solution, some method to reconstruct my left

knee, which was a total disaster, and a competent Ortho who had the skill to

achieve this. I at that time had mo patella (removed 33 years ago), 4

ruptured ligaments: medial collateral, lateral collateral, posterior

cruciate, and anterior cruciate, had ground the head of both my femur and

tibia down to exposed bone marrow, was bleeding internally in the knee

joint, and a nasty abscess infection deep within the joint.

I wore a full length custom leg brace, however, because of the extreme

condition of my knee joint, it could not hope to offer any real needed

support. My left leg was literally disconnected at the knee joint, held

together by the knee capsule, and of course muscle and skin. The pain was

so intense/excruciating that I was on a myriad of medications, so much

Morphine that, post-surgery I couldn't hardly see straight, let alone call

my existence at that time a 'life'.

I saw the surgeon who reconstructed my left knee in October of 2000, 2 weeks

ago for my 36 month follow-up. I spoke of your post outlining what little

you spoke of about your knee, and the difficult surgical decision you were

having to make.

I had a similar decision back in 2000, and was at that time looking for a

surgeon to amputate my leg, as apposed to having it fused stiff for the rest

of my life.

His name is Dr. Bassam Masri, Chief Orthopedic Surgeon at the Vancouver

Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He holds a Professorship

at the teaching University of British Columbia, and with his partner Dr.

Clive Duncan,

he operate the Complex Joint Reconstruction Clinic, which is a clinic run

within the confines of the Vancouver Hospital.

In short, without hesitation, he said, " Refer to me. " He would be happy to

consult, if someone in the profession wished to speak with him about the

procedure. The prosthesis and procedure he used in my reconstruction is not

commonly used or done.

In fact, seven Orthopedics in Canada, and one from Boston told me that there

was nothing that could be done for me surgically, and not one of them would

attempt a fusion of the joint; I think for fear of failure, and the high

possiblilty of an out of control infection after the procedure.

Dr. Masri, has taught in England, has traveled and taught in South Africa,

did his fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. I told him that I thought you were

situated in England, and he wanted to know where about in England, as he

said he has travelled to the U.K., and spent tiime there teaching Orthopedic

procedure.

He used a Noiles S-ROM Modular Knee System as a solution to my problems. It

can accommodate for any degree of bone or soft tissue loss. I am pain-free

in that knee as of today, and am enjoying full-extension, with 110 degrees

of flexion.

I purchased my X-rays on this follow-up visit, and if you are interested in

viewing the prosthesis (in x-ray, as I can't get the darn thing out), and

were to contact me, I would be happy to allow you to view them, by either

mailing them to you, or having a copy center reduce their size by photo

copy, after which I could scan them, and send them in bmp, jpeg, of tif, or

some file extension.

You are also welcome to a copy of the report from the surgical procedure.

Contact me at jphughes@..., or through the listgroup if you wish to

communicate.

All the best,