Crippled knee can heal itself

9:56am Tuesday 2nd October 2001

A ROWER with a crippling knee condition says his dream of training for the England team could come true thanks to new surgery which involves growing your own cartilage.

Four years ago, 22-year-old James Solesbury, from Bromley, started to get pain in his knee and, within weeks, had difficulty walking and going upstairs.

The sports enthusiast, who rowed for Bath University and used to swim for Orpington Swimming Club, was later diagnosed with osteoarthritis, which is where cartilage under the knee cap becomes worn away.

Following surgery in 1999, the pain got worse and he was told he would probably have to have his knee joint replaced every 15 years.

But then he heard about pioneering knee surgery, known as cartilage transplantation, which involves removing a sample of healthy cartilage from a patient's knee and then “growing it” in a laboratory untilit is big enough to replace the torn cartilage.

James, of Faringdon Avenue, was one of 150 sports enthusiasts who took part in a four-year trial of the new surgery at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.

He had two operations in February this year and says he can now walk around freely.

Since then, the trainee pub manager has been having physiotherapy at Orpington Hospital and will be able to to do light sports training in six months and competitive sports in a year.

“The first thing I am going to do is go rowing on the River Thames because I would love to enter trials for the England rowing team,” he said.

Talking about how the surgery has made a difference in his life, he said: “Before I had this surgery, it got to the point where I could hardly walk.

“I thought I might never be able to play sport again”, he said.

“After the initital surgery, the pain got worse and I was told if it got any worse, I would have to have complete knee replacement every 15 years which would have been such an ordeal.”

He added: “The cartilage transplant has given me the opportunity to carry on doing the thing I love most playing sports.”

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