Patient Returns to Horse Riding After Revision ACL Surgery at Spire Bristol Hospital

• Patient returns to horse riding after complex ACL revision surgery at Spire Bristol Hospital 

Equine Massage and Manipulation Therapist Bridget Wills had an ACL reconstruction done a few years ago in a different hospital using hamstring tendons. The knee never fully settled. Despite the previous surgery, the pain she was experiencing never improved. Bridget sought advice from another hospital. She was told there was nothing that needed to be done, even though her unstable knee made her struggle at work, unable to take part in netball or play with her children.

Discouraged but determined, the thirty-five-year-old mum of two was able to get another opinion and visited Spire Bristol Hospital for the first time. Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Mr James Murray reflects on his first meeting with Bridget, “When I examined Bridget, it was obvious that the knee was both unstable and the ACL graft was not working. Bridget also had pain on the inner aspect of her knee, due to the lack of a meniscus.”

Bridget had an MRI, CT scan and x-ray done at Spire Bristol Hospital, to make sure her legs were straight and that she was able to have an ACL revision done with a straightforward one-stage technique; thankfully this was the case.

Mr Murray comments: “We decided that Mrs Wills was able to have a meniscal allograft. A meniscal allograft is a form of “spare part surgery”, where an intact meniscus from a patient who has died is transplanted into a patient’s knee who has no meniscus. We agreed the best thing to do was perform a meniscal transplant and a revision ACL reconstruction with a patella tendon graft.”

Bridget went ahead to pay privately for her surgery at Spire Bristol Hospital. Mr James Murray performed the surgery on Bridget’s left knee in January 2025 and recovered well. Bridget then asked for her right knee ACL reconstruction to be re-done, as this was also unstable. This was a simpler procedure than the first, and was performed in July 2025 by Mr Murray. Bridget reflects, “The post-surgery was long but very positive. It was all worth it - I cannot thank Mr Murray enough. He gave me the reassurance that I could get better and back to sport”

Bridget is now back in the saddle and is living life free of pain. “I feel like I have been given my life back,” says Bridget. “I didn’t realise how restricted I had been in my job and with the family. My two girls will be four and seven years old in June. They are the main reason I had the surgery.”

Bridget Wills back riding following revision ACL and meniscal transplant surgery at Spire Bristol Hospital

Spire Bristol Hospital provides specialist orthopaedic care supported by advanced diagnostics and modern facilities. The hospital recently received the National Joint Registry (NJR) Gold Level Award for excellence in data quality, recognising its commitment to high standards of patient care.

Learn more about knee and ligament procedures in the Bones and Joints section.