Rebuild
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Our Successes
    • About the Limb Reconstruction Unit
    • Trustees
  • Limb Reconstruction
  • Patient Stories
  • Support
    • Coping with a Frame
    • Pain Management
    • Physiotherapy
    • Psychological care
    • Patients’ Tips
    • Southwark Support Clinic
  • News
  • How to Help
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Menu Menu

An encounter with a Rhino

17/11/2018/in Patient Stories

While a guest on a television production just over 20 years ago I had a run-in with a rhino, which caused me considerable damage, including a badly broken leg. The first orthopaedic surgeon treated the leg with a simple plaster cast. After a year it had failed to affect a union.
The second surgeon decided on a new piece of equipment named after its inventor, Ilizarov. Unfortunately, as this equipment was very much in the experimental stage in 1988, it was removed before a full union had been effected.
The third orthopaedic team based in Harley Street, London, endeavoured to repair the leg by grafting bone from my hips. Five years and three failures later, we went ‘orthopaedic shopping’, consulting 16 experts in the UK, Switzerland and the US.
As a result of reading some papers presented by a surgeon, and having experience the Ilizarov equipment and believing in its efficacy, I decided to return to that treatment in the hands of a Sheffield surgeon who claimed to have a success rate of 80%.
This treatment started in September 1993, with the fitting of a more complex Ilizarov frame consisting of five wheels to allow two areas for adjustment: near the ankle by the original break to straighten it, and nearer the knee to allow for the major leg bones to be osteometised (cut or broken) before being extended.
Over the next two years the adjustment straightened the distal or ankle break and allowed for the broken ends to be trimmed so that they could unite properly. The proximal area where it had been cut was extended by 105mm so that the leg was now more or less straight and the correct length.
Unfortunately about this time several of the wires that supported this system broke, causing the frame to weaken. Surgeons replaced the Ilizarov with a bar fixator (Orthofix), attached with bolts to the bone. However, the bone that had been extended by 4 inches was soft. The bolts into the bone loosened and allowed the leg to bend, placing my foot at a strange angle, which was inconvenient and painful to walk on. The surgeon suggested that I live with it until the bone consolidated. This was in 1995.
After some years I returned to Sheffield to have the simple wedge removed, as suggested in 1995. The treating surgeon suggested Ilizarov and oseotemised at the same two sites to straighten the foot and lengthen the leg. This was done at the same Sheffield hospital from August 20013 and August 2004.
As my foot was realigned incorrectly I returned in May 2005. However, my health insurance cover had stopped in 1995 and I could not afford surgeon and private hospital fees.
My London GP (Dr Gordon Cochran) referred me to Mr Graeme Groom, head of the orthopaedic department of King’s College Hospital. Under the NHS Mr Groom has taken just two and half years to correct my leg, obtaining union and straightening the limb to a remarkable degree. At last I am now able to walk without the aid of any stick or crutches, and more importantly, WITHOUT PAIN.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://rebuildcharity.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/11/Rhino.jpg 426 640 Mark Devlin https://rebuildcharity.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/11/rebuild-logo-small.png Mark Devlin2018-11-17 17:43:272018-11-17 17:43:27An encounter with a Rhino

Latest Stories

  • Laura Bond running for RebuildRebuild’s runner in the 2021 London Marathon27/08/2021 - 16:49

    We are delighted to announce that Rebuild’s runner in the 2021 London Marathon, raising funds to help KCH’s limb reconstruction patients on their journey to recovery, is Laura Bond. Laura fully understands the importance of the charity’s work – not only is she a doctor in the NHS herself, but her mum is Debbie Bond, […]

  • BLRS2021_Sarah Phillips2021 BLRS Virtual Conference: Address by Sarah Phillips19/07/2021 - 11:03

    You can watch Sarah’s address on: A Citizens Advice Clinic within a Limb Reconstruction Service   (Opens in Vimeo)

  • Kathy's Orthotic ShoesBespoke orthotic shoes allow limb reconstruction patient Kathy to walk her dogs again20/04/2021 - 16:38

    In 2009 Kathy suffered a very serious fracture to her right ankle after falling from a horse. The break was so severe that it was touch and go whether or not her leg could be saved. But, under the care of her local hospital, her leg was in plaster for six weeks, and then in […]

  • Support GroupSouthwark support clinic20/04/2021 - 16:07

    Rebuild and Citizen’s Advice Southwark set up weekly clinic to support King’s limb reconstruction patients From October 2019, patients of the limb reconstruction unit at King’s College Hospital (KCH) can access free, confidential, independent and impartial advice and support on all aspects of welfare benefits, employment issues, housing issues and mobility guidance from Citizen’s Advice […]

  • Former limb reconstruction patient speaks to @King’s magazine08/12/2018 - 16:01

    Fiona Squire, a former limb reconstruction patient, talks with @Kings magazine about how the Mind & Body Programme. My accident irreversibly changed my life. I had hit despair, with no sense of an improving future: no more nursing, dog-walking, or caring for my ill husband. The programme revealed the distress and depression I was carrying […]

Archives

  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • April 2021
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • November 2017
  • September 2016

Support Rebuild by helping us to raise funds, partnering with us, following us on social media, or through donations.

Donate



This website has information for anyone considering, or going through, limb reconstruction surgery. However we cannot provide opinions on treatment. If you require more information but are not a patient of King’s College Hospital, you should contact your own medical team for advice.

© Copyright Rebuild Charity, trading name of The KCH Limb Reconstruction Trust. Registered Charity Number: 1119378
  • Login
  • Portal
  • Legal
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site by Triptych
KCH physio Suzanne Swaine raising money for Rebuild CharityGetting married with a Meccano set on my leg
Scroll to top