Why did we bother setting up ‘The UK Biological Knee Society’?…

Simple — in the UK we are seeing an increasing divergence in the quality of medical and surgical care. At the lower end we have the NHS, where the focus is obsessively on cost reductions and where patients’ access to expensive surgical care is rationed and limited. Side by side with this, increasingly we are seeing Private Medical Insurance companies also restricting patients’ access to the best specialist surgeons and denying funding for the latest surgical procedures. At the other end of the spectrum we have a small but growing number of UK Knee Surgeons who are determined to stay abreast with the latest scientific and technical developments in order to be able to offer their patients the very best possible surgical solutions, particularly for those patients with the more difficult and more complex knee problems.

On top of this, sadly there are too many surgeons who for some reason still seem to be unaware of or perhaps in denial about the value of complex surgical reconstructive procedures, despite clear and compelling evidence published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Bizarrely, there are surgeons in the UK who still believe that it is acceptable to perform a knee arthroscopy without first double checking the knee with a good quality MRI scan. There are also surgeons who seem to believe that arthroscopy has no role in patients ‘of a certain age’, with patients being forced to face the stark choice of simply having to suffer with ongoing knee pain or else proceed directly with artificial knee replacement surgery, despite the fact that it has been demonstrated how a careful and thorough arthroscopic tidy-up of a knee joint can potentially buy patients several years before they do then eventually end up needing a knee replacement.

The members of the UK Biological Knee Society are devoted to the study, evaluation and practice of the latest and best technologies and surgical techniques, in a determined attempt to offer their patients the very best possible treatment options for knee reconstruction.

This website is intended as an information resource for surgeons and patients alike: to try and perhaps open the eyes of some surgeons who might not currently be offering their patients the latest proven surgical techniques, and to try and educate patients about what surgical options might actually be available to them.

Disclaimer

The information on this website has been written by members of The UK Biological Knee Society and is intended purely for educational purposes. It does not represent specific medical advice for any individual. If you are a patient and if you have a knee problem then you must see a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon specialising in Knee Surgery for a proper formal face-to-face assessment, including full appropriate imaging, for a full and detailed discussion about exactly what potential options might be suitable for your knee.