Keyhole surgery helps Iron Man

5:10pm Wednesday 3rd December 2008

A SURFER who fractured his ankle was able to take on the Iron Man competition after being fixed up with pioneering surgery in Dorchester. When Pete Varley, 36, injured his left ankle wakeboarding he expected years of problems after complications in the healing process left inflamed tissue and a piece of loose bone floating in the joint.

The injury caused pain and stiffness, limiting Pete’s enjoyment of surfing, snowboarding and running.

But plans to compete in the Iron Man challenge – a demanding swim, bike ride and marathon – were saved by keyhole surgery in Dorset County Hospital.

Pete found out about the ankle arthroscopy procedure performed by orthopaedic surgeon Nick Savva.

The surgeon used keyhole techniques to remove the chip of bone and inflamed tissue under general anaesthetic.

Pete, who lives in Bournemouth, said: “The result was brilliant.

“Four weeks after the operation it looked and felt a lot better and after three months it was totally 100 per cent better.

“I’ve had no trouble at all since.”

A spokesman for the hospital said most patients who fracture or sprain their ankle make a full recovery without needing surgery, but some people suffer symptoms like Pete’s.

Most patients are able to walk immediately after the surgery and do not need to stay at the hospital overnight.

To perform the keyhole surgery Mr Savva accessed Pete’s ankle through small holes before removing the damaged tissue.