Rowan De Klerk – Knee Surgery
Patient Name: Rowan De Klerk
Case Study: Meniscal tear
Dr James McAllister: Rowan sustained a meniscal tear that required surgery to remove pain and restore the functionality of the knee and has ended up with an excellent result.
TESTIMONIAL
Rowan has been a runner for over 30 years and finds it therapeutic to be able to not only train, but allow his mind to focus on all the aspects of improving his skills while he is out running. He has been running for most of his adult life, but a knee injury interrupted this.
He began to find that jogging was an uphill battle and tried to keep at it for a few months to see if the problem would go away by itself. Not only did this not happen, but Rowan found that his knee became painful and was a reminder that he could not only run, but even climbing stairs or walking hurt. This all bothered him to the point that he realised it was not going to heal by itself and was now hindering his everyday life. Would he have to stop running?
Rowan decided to contact Dr James McAllister, an orthopaedic surgeon, for a consultation.
“He was very attentive and treated my case with urgency, making time for a consultation that same afternoon, which was incredible. Once he had examined my knee, he diagnosed a meniscal tear which he recommended needed repair. I agreed to undergo an orthopaedic procedure and he was able to schedule the operation for the next morning, again amazing service ethic. Suffice to say the operation went very smoothly and I was discharged from the hospital around lunch time that same day.”
James recommended resting the leg for about 6 weeks for the surgery to be most effective and the healing to take place. “His estimate was very accurate, sure enough after 6 weeks I was able to start short intermittent jogging, combined with walking”, says Rowan.
Rowan was soon able to run again with no pain or discomfort. Within a few months he was back to his old running routine and able to complete medium term distances up to 15 km. After 3 years, Rowan’s knee is back to its original strength and there are no post-operation issues. He is fit and healthy and enjoying running now more than ever.
Contemplating the surgery and potentially having given up on his passion, Rowan says “I am very grateful to James for giving me this new lease on life. I would have probably given up running and generally struggled with long walks at the age of 50, which would have been demoralizing and difficult to deal with for an active, healthy, middle aged man”.
Instead, Rowan is an active man still enjoying his passion for running, thanks to the orthopaedic surgery from Midlands Orthopaedics.
For more information about the kinds of surgery we undertake, you can visit our website. If you want to discuss your hip care going forward, please contact us.
Project Details
- Patient : Rowan De Klerk
- Condition : Meniscal tear
- Doctor : Dr James McAllister