Had England striker, Michael Owen, known about the pioneering surgery available in the UK for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries he may have been back on the pitch in half the time - without leaving home turf - after his 2006 World Cup injury.
ACL injuries are increasingly common due to the popularity of sports such as football, rugby, netball, skiing, running and the trend for a more active lifestyle by people of all ages.
Sanjiv Jari, Consultant Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Surgeon at Spire Manchester Hospital and doctor to the British Olympic Wrestling team, has been pioneering a technique known as contra-lateral ACL reconstruction surgery. The process – which took three years to develop - is returning his patients to peak performance quickly, safely and in half the time.
His solution is simple: “Rather than taking the replacement ligament from the injured knee, as is the norm, I take it from the uninjured knee. The result is that my patients can return to peak performance in half the time,” he says.
“With a traditional ACL reconstruction, step-by-step physiotherapy is needed. Firstly physiotherapy is given to reduce the swelling and increase the movement in the repaired knee. Only once has this has been achieved can the knee be strengthened with further physiotherapy enabling the patient to return to sport with minimum risk.
“The contra-lateral method enables rehabilitation to be done simultaneously. Because the injured knee is been weakened further by taking a ligament graft from it, physiotherapy can focus on reducing swelling and regaining movement. The other knee – from which the graft has been taken – needs only to be strengthened. Both goals can occur concurrently, enabling a return to sport to be made more easily and in significantly less time.
With the potential for ACL injuries to happen to anyone, Mr Jari explains that it’s not just sportspeople who can benefit from this ground breaking surgery. “For example, hard working Mum’s – who may not play competitive sport – still need a stable knee to be able to cope with the antics of their demanding young offspring.”
Mr Jari is currently the only Orthopaedic surgeon in the UK who routinely performs this contra-lateral reconstructive surgery. The benefits of his approach are confirmed by the experiences of his patients.
Raza Bakatali, a 35-year old father of three, tore his ACL playing football. An enthusiastic footballer and long distance runner, he believed that his sporting career was over. With commitments to run in a number of marathons for his chosen charity Mencap, a move inspired by the learning difficulties of his son, Mr Bakatali experienced a great deal of frustration prior to his pioneering ACL surgery.
Within six months of Mr Bakatali’s operation, he was back playing competitive football and also completed the Great Manchester Run in only 50 minutes – just seven minutes more than his pre-injury best. Since then he has run the London Marathon - in less than four and a half hours – will be running the Chicago Marathon in October and also has his sights set on the Marathon des Sables, which is a 150 mile endurance test across the Sahara to be completed in seven days. Just six months ago, Mr Bakatali was struggling to come to terms with giving up his sporting ambitions, and now he was realising his dreams and more thanks to Mr Jari.
Sixteen year-old competitive disco dancer, Lauren Maxwell, is one of Mr Jari’s youngest patients. After a freak accident during a competition which tore her ACL, she underwent contra-lateral ACL surgery. Following her rehabilitation programme, Lauren was back competing within five months of her operation; reaching the finals of the British Isles Disco-freestyle Championships in 2007. This month, she won a national dance-off which means she is now only one step away from becoming a Championship dancer – a dream which, this time last year, she thought would never happen. In October, Lauren will compete in a major dance festival being held in Wales. Her ambition is to become a professional dancer or teacher in her field.
“When I had the accident I was really scared I would never dance again. Now I’m back, in record time, and if anything performing even better than before,” Lauren said.
Anyone wishing to find out more about Mr Jari’s surgery should visit
www.spirehealthcare.com\manchester or call Spire Manchester Hospital on 0161 232 2303.
Notes to Editor
Spire Manchester Hospital is part of Spire Healthcare, the second largest private hospital provider in the UK with 36 hospitals and a total of 1,983 beds.
Spire Healthcare provides services for private and insured patients as well as NHS funded patients under the government’s Free Choice initiative. It also offers cosmetic and weight-loss surgery. It treats 930,000 patients a year, employs 7,600 staff and works with over 3,000 medical consultants. For more information, please visit:
www.spirehealthcare.com www.spirehealthcare.com For more information contact: Sarah Lie
PR Consultant to Spire Healthcare
Ph: (0)7946 354 978 Email:
sarah@wordlywise.co.uk
