UKC

My grandson (9 years old) has finally been diagnosed as having CMP (Chondromalacia patellae) in one knee. This is after numerous visits to the doctor and visits to A&E when he claims his knee has locked up. He has been allocated physiotherapy. I suggested to my son and daughter in law that we get a second opinion just to be sure and they agree. So my question is how do we go about finding a knee specialist? Perhaps it’s unnecessary but I feel that as he is so young it’s best to get a second opinion just in case. I’ve seen that we can get an MRI at what I think is a very reasonable cost (£200 - £400) and guess a consultation would cost about the same and I can easily cover the cost and would pay much more if that is what it takes to avoid him having problems later in life. So now it’s down to the actual detail of finding someone. My initial though is to go down the BUPA route and let them suggest a specialist but am wondering if there are alternative options. Perhaps it’s a waste of money and physio will help but in the eventuality that it doesn’t then I don’t see any harm in getting another opinion.

Ask the NHS for a second opinion…. Or just ask your dr for a private referral or just look up the consultants at your local buoa or spire hospital and ask for an appointment 

Find your nearest Spire Health Private Hospital. Go on it's web site where they list the specialists. Do some research of the ones that look suitable. Book a consultation (usually around £200). That's what I did when I needed shoulder surgery and was getting nowhere with my physio treatment.

Or, find a really good physio who will, quite likely, have links to MRI scans and suitable specialists.

You could do worse than contacting The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and asking them? Apparently they're in the World top ten for orthopaedics and as they're NHS and you're entitled to a second opinion for free it's probably worth a punt.

https://www.rnoh.nhs.uk/news/rnoh-voted-top-ten-specialist-hospital-global-...

I'd try to avoid the private route if at all possible. You're entitled to ask for a second opinion via your GP. There are orthopedic surgeons who specialise in children. Don't get stuck in the loop of repeat appointments and treatments with private healthcare. Their business model is to keep you coming back for more.

Hope you get what your son needs 

M

This is definitely the best approach, research who you want to see to ensure you are seeing a specialist in the field and not just any orthopaedic surgeon.

When you make the appointment be very clear about what you expect and I'm sure that is what you will get.

Thanks all. Exactly the response I was hoping for. I’m currently doing hard labour for my son as he/they decided to replace ALL of their current bathroom, so we get plenty of time to talk. Many years ago he signed up on here but I don’t think he logs on here now. I will send him the link, and we can consider how to proceed.

My father had a leg problem. Eventually it got so bad he actually considered surgery. He was concerned at the limited life of the replacement, so left it as long as possible. Then an unrelated cancer got him. I will do all I can to make sure that anything like that doesn’t happen to my grandson.

Unsure how it works elsewhere but getting to Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital will only be possible if your trust has a contract with them or the powers that be grant a "special".  They should have a contract with a hospital with a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon.

The physio - if correctly advised and done properly - is the best option.  MRI etc is mainly to exclude alternatives and give reassurance.

I’m unsure what trust the OP’s grandson is under either, which is why I said it’s worth a punt. What I do know is that many trusts will go to sometimes outlandish lengths to placate a persistent patient.

A couple of years ago a colleague transported a wheelchair user by ambulance from Yorkshire to London and back, to see a consultant who specialised in shoulders.

The patient had strained their shoulder and was unhappy with their GP’s advice to take ibuprofen and give it a few weeks. Second opinion demanded from another GP elicited the same response. A trip to A&E was then arranged with an identical response whereupon the patient spent a couple of days on Google and demanded a trip to London to see his eminence, the shoulder specialist. No prizes for guessing what advice was forthcoming. The patient asked to be dropped off at their local A&E on returning to Yorkshire.

This patient was a well known frequent flyer.

I can recommend BUPA. I have seen consultants there for two very different issues (one a broken finger, two a female issue type thing) and had very good results. None of them had been addressed by the NHS people although my very nice GP referred me to the BUPA consultants.. 

Someone on here PM’d  to recommend a Consultant Orthopaedic Knee Surgeon whose areas of expertise include treating sports injuries and degenerative conditions, which is exactly the sort of person I was looking for. We have the NHS diagnosis and treatment plan and using their resources to get them to check, what may well be the correct course of action, just feels wrong. Perhaps it will be a waste of money but at least we will know that we explored all the options.