Shattered Patellar Ligament Knee Recovery

From: Guy Littlefair

Received: Wednesday, 26 January, 2011, 12:35 PM

In April 2010 I broke my patellar ligament in my left knee in an accident. Some 20 years earlier I had broken the anterior cruciate ligament in the same knee and had a repair using tissue from the patellar ligament, which took me many months to recover from. The surgeon who undertook the emergency repair for the patella was not optimistic about a full recovery since my knee was in poor shape and I had completely "shattered" the ligament. He warned me to prepare myself for having a long and painful recovery, to at best restore the knee to about 80% of what I previously had.

After the surgery, I was fortunate enough to use one of Marcella Popplewell's Bioptron Lights on an ongoing basis. After six weeks of my leg being immobilised, the surgeon was astonished at the progress I had made and the amount of mobilisation I had in the knee. I continued with the light and started a period of physio. In just 7 months I was in surgery again to have the support wire removed from my knee, the result of the repair being fully successful at a period of at least half that of the normal patient recovery period.

I would encourage anyone to try the Bioptron for themselves. It is not an instant fix by any means but it appears that with continued regular treatment it can have a remarkable effect and make a tremendous difference to both the length of recovery and the extent of the recovery.

Professor Guy Littlefair
MSc, PhD, MIPENZ, CEng