Knee surgery in Stirling

If your knee is causing you pain, you won’t have to wait long to see a talented Consultant Orthopaedic Knee Surgeon at The Kings Park Hospital in Stirling.

Our consultants see everything from knee arthritis to sports injuries of the knee. We offer a full range of treatments, from total knee replacement surgery to keyhole surgery for ligament repairs, meniscal (cartilage) tears and inflammation.

All of our consultants have subspeciality interests within their field. For example, one might be an expert at joint replacements, while another is an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair specialist. So, it’s worth checking what problems they specialise in before arranging an appointment.

The hospital serves a wide area across central Scotland, including Forth Valley, Fife, and Tayside. It is easy to access, and parking is free.

Knee surgery is a branch of orthopaedics and relates to surgical procedures on the knee. The sub-speciality is divided into bone and joint surgery and surgery to the soft tissue around the knee, such as ligaments, tendons, and cartilages.

At The Kings Park Hospital, you can access advanced treatments and procedures if non-surgical interventions such as physiotherapy, painkillers and steroid injections haven’t worked or are less effective than they were before.

Our Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeons at the hospital see patients with arthritis, sports injuries and knee pain with no apparent cause.

There have been developments in knee arthritis treatment in recent years. For example, surgeons can perform osteotomy surgery to change the bones’ angles around the knee and preserve the joint. The surgery can substantially delay the need for a total knee joint replacement.

There have also been revolutionary techniques in keyhole surgery (knee arthroscopy) to repair ligaments and cartilages within the knee. The Internal Brace is one of these. Professor Gordon Mackay, one of our Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeons at the hospital, invented it. The brace acts as a seatbelt to protect and strengthen ligaments within the knee that would have replaced in the past. As a result, rehabilitation and movement post-surgery is quicker because there’s less need to immobilise the joint with plaster.

Knee treatments offered include:

• Steroid injections
• Physiotherapy
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection therapy
• Keyhole (arthroscopic) surgery for ligament repairs (with Internal Brace)
• Keyhole (arthroscopic) surgery for cartilage (meniscus) tears
• Partial (unicompartmental) knee replacement
• Knee osteotomy
• Total knee replacement
• Bilateral knee replacement
• Revision knee replacement

We see patients with a referral from a GP, physiotherapist, or other specialists. However, many of our consultants also see those wishing to self-refer.

It is always helpful to ask your GP for a referral letter even if you have self-referred. It gives your Consultant Orthopaedic Knee Surgeon a complete picture of your problem, your general health and any other conditions that could be related.

Consultations can be face to face or carried out remotely via telephone or video. If you come into our clinic to see your consultant in person, we will not keep you waiting. Before you know it, your consultant will introduce themselves and lead you into their consulting room.

Your consultant will start by speaking to you about your medical history, symptoms, and how long they have troubled you. They will then examine your knees. Don’t be surprised if they also do a hip and back examination because some knee pain can come from elsewhere (referred pain).

While you’re moving around, your consultant will look at the position of your knees. They will assess movement within the knee to check for any abnormal actions. They will also feel for tenderness and swelling.

Your consultant will often arrange an x-ray to be carried out by one of our radiographers whilst you are in the hospital. They will then see you after the x-ray to discuss the findings and hopefully provide a diagnosis and treatment plan.

Should your consultant recommend further investigations to aid diagnosis, such as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, we’ll arrange this at our sister hospital, The Ross Hall Hospital, in Glasgow. MRI scans provide detailed images of the knee showing bones, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and muscles.

Occasionally, your consultant may conclude that you have a condition that another specialist would be better at treating, such as an expert in arthritis and inflammatory disorders (a rheumatologist) or an orthopaedic surgeon with a particular sub-speciality interest. If so, they can refer you.

At Kings Park Hospital, we are delighted to offer daycase knee replacement surgery. This surgery comes with numerous advantages for our patients including reduced risk of infection and blood clots, as well as quicker rehab and recovery times with enhanced post-op mobility, whilst also eradicating the need to stay in hospital overnight.

Mr Gavin Love, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, offers this surgery at Kings Park Hospital.

Your consultant may recommend some treatments, which they can carry out during your initial consultation. For example, they can administer steroid injections to lessen your pain and reduce inflammation.

Should surgery be recommended, your consultant will explain the procedure in detail, highlight all the pros and cons and cover the expected outcome. You will have time to ask questions, and your consultant will be able to alleviate any anxieties you may have.

At the end of your consultation, your consultant will provide you with contact details for your consultant and the hospital so you can get back in touch should you have any further questions or wish to book in for surgery. We can typically book surgery within a couple of weeks.

Most procedures carried out at Kings Park Hospital are day-case surgery, meaning you can go home later that day. However, joint replacements require between one and three overnight stays. You’ll have a private room with an en-suite bathroom, TV and WIFI.

After surgery, your surgeon will see you before you go home and arrange any follow-up appointments. You’ll also see one of our on-site physiotherapists who will ensure you’re doing the correct movements and exercises to help your recovery.

We offer procedures with the latest inventions like the Internal Brace that have minimal recovery time to ensure you return to daily life and sport quickly.

You can often see a highly skilled Consultant Orthopaedic Knee Surgeon within 48 hours so that you can get on the path to recovery straightaway.

We provide sympathetic and efficient after-care, including wound checks and stitch removal by our diligent and caring nurses, follow-up appointments with your consultant, and physiotherapy to aid your recovery.