Mr Anthony Lindfield from Rainham in Essex, had knee replacement surgery at Spire Hartswood Hospital in Brentwood, Essex in March 2010.
Anthony Lindfield is a retired Gas Engineer who had total knee replacement surgery with Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Mr Sunil Kumar at private hospital Spire Hartswood in Brentwood Essex.
Anthony first started to experience pain in his knee joints whilst at work. Gradually his mobility decreased until he was unable to support himself properly and found it very difficult to carry out his daily tasks.
Mr Lindfield explains more: “As a Gas Engineer I spent a lot of time on my knees. I started to get pain and eventually I had to lean on walls to get myself up from a kneeling position. ”
Anthony went to his local GP to discuss his problem and was referred to a specialist who was working at Spire Hartswood at the time. He had a consultation and x-rays confirmed that he would eventually need knee replacement surgery.
Anthony said: “The consultant recommended that in the short term it would be beneficial for me to reduce the strain I was putting on my knees and then discussed with me all the options available. Once I had all the information I needed I was able to make an informed decision and decided to take early retirement and delay surgery for a few years.”
Five years later Anthony decided that he was ready for surgery and knew he wanted to go back to Hartswood, so his GP referred him to Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Mr Kumar.
Anthony continues: “Mr Kumar was great. He had all my notes and took new x-rays which confirmed that I needed surgery on both knees and ankle. I decided the time was right for me to have the surgery and used my medical insurance to cover the costs.”
Mr Lindfield arranged with Hartswood a convenient date for the procedure and in March had his first knee replacement surgery with Mr Kumar at Hartswood. The operation went well and Mr Lindfield went home after a few days.
He says: “I went in on the Wednesday and was home by the Sunday. It was amazing. The scarring is minimal and I have so much more mobility. During my stay I had two sessions of physiotherapy in the Hartswood hydrotherapy pool. I was fortunate that Hartswood had this facility which I believe helped reduce my recovery time. By Sunday I was walking and went home.
“Whilst I was there I was treated with dignity, respect and first class care by all of the staff. I had my own room with a television and en-suite. It was clean, comfortable and a good environment to recover in.”
Mr Lindfield will need a second knee replacement operation and surgery on his ankle in the future but isn’t worried about the prospect of more surgery.
“I know I will be looked after very well and so I am not worried about it. I cannot fault Hartswood and would recommend anyone to go there and get treated. Your health is worth investing in.”