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Landmark 50th Total Ankle Replacement performed at the Freeman Hospital
Mr Preben Lorentzen with Freeman Hospital staff who performed the surgery and helped him on the road to recovery.
Staff at the Freeman Hospital celebrated their 50th successful total ankle replacement operation in January of this year. Although knee and hip replacements have been carried for many years now, ankle replacements are relatively new in the world of orthopaedic surgery and the Freeman Hospital is one of only six specialist units in the whole of the UK currently performing this operation.
Malik Siddique, a foot and ankle specialist at the Freeman Hospital has been offering this intricate surgery for 18 months now, providing much appreciated pain relief and improved movement for patients suffering from debilitating arthritis of the ankle. Previously, the only treatment for arthritis of the ankle was fusion surgery, which although helps reduce the pain experience prevents all movement in the ankle joint.
The replacement ankle implant used is a brand new design, developed jointly by experts in the UK, America and Switzerland and is suitable for a wide range of conditions including arthritis, severe fractures and childhood ankle problems. Newcastle is currently one of only four trial centres using the implant worldwide.
Our milestone 50th patient is an 89-year-old Danish gentleman, Mr Preben Lorentzen. In his youth Mr Lorentzen was a member of the Merchant Navy and one of seven lucky survivors when his ship sank in the North Sea, forcing him to tread water until help arrived. Mr Lorentzen is a keen gardener and full-time carer for his wife - leading such an active life means he cannot afford to be slowed down by an arthritic or fused ankle and so the successful operation was performed on the 17th of January. Mr Lorentzen is making good progress.
When asked if he would be back at the age of 99 to have his other ankle replaced, Mr Lorentzen’s reaction was instant: “Absolutely”.
