Knee op ordeal a year of my life I'll never get back, says Rainworth man Cyril Mundy

A NOTTS pensioner says he feels robbed of a year of his life after a knee replacement left him struggling to walk and in constant agony.

Retired engineer Cyril Mundy, of Rainworth, had to undergo the trauma of having a second knee replacement due to the issues he faced.

The 71-year-old, who had the initial surgery at Rotherham Hospital, has now been awarded a five-figure payout from Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust after specialist medical negligence solicitors at law firm JMW challenged the care provided to him.

However, after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, or cancer of the bone marrow, Mr Mundy is outraged that a year of his life was spent in suffering and wants to warn others of the nightmare he faced.

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Mr Mundy, who is married to Maria, 61, said: "Months later I was left in so much pain that I could not even walk around Tesco.

"I am absolutely appalled by the outcome of the operation – my quality of life was severely affected and my wife essentially became my carer.

"At one point I told my GP that I would rather have my leg amputated than be in so much pain.

"That is a year of my life that I will never get back and with my current health problems that is a huge concern for me."

Melissa Gardner, a medical negligence lawyer at JMW Solicitors, took on Mr Mundy's case after investigating the care provided to him and having concerns about the standard of the surgery.

It was later alleged that some of the cuts to his bones were not done correctly and that the replacement knee joint was the wrong size, among other things.

While the trust has never admitted that it made mistakes with the surgery, it agreed a payout to Mr Mundy for his pain and suffering.

Ms Gardner said: "The distress that a painful knee joint can cause can never be underestimated and in Cyril's case this meant some aspects of daily living were a constant struggle. After investigating the surgery we found several areas of concern and we hope that hospital managers will look closely at these."

Mr Mundy was first referred for a right knee replacement at Rotherham Hospital in August 2009.

Following the operation his recovery went as expected and he was on crutches for three to four weeks.

However days after starting physiotherapy he began to experience pain so intense that he could hardly put his foot on the floor.

Over coming weeks this worsened and Mr Mundy could not sleep for the pain, discomfort and anguish, and could hardly walk.

He eventually underwent revision surgery at Barlborough Treatment Centre, in Chesterfield, in July 2010 and the pain in his right knee immediately disappeared.

A spokesperson for the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust said: "The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust is pleased that settlement was reached amicably in this case without an admission of liability and wishes Mr Mundy all the best for the future."