DR Jeff Foster is The Sun on Sunday’s resident doctor and is here to help YOU.
Dr Jeff, 43, splits his time between working as a GP in Leamington Spa, Warks, and running his clinic, H3 Health, which is the first of its kind in the UK to look at hormonal issues for both men and women.
Dr Jeff Foster is The Sun on Sunday’s new resident doctor and is here to help you
See h3health.co.uk and email at [email protected].
Q) I’M an 82-year-old man and had a knee replacement two years ago.
I don’t suffer with the pain in my knee any more but it seems to have a strange feeling which prevents me from kneeling on it.
It is as if the nerve has been damaged. Is it possible to have it corrected if that is what it is?
Brian Chorlerton, Derby
A) Knee surgery has revolutionised the quality of life for millions of people, and advances in techniques have meant that time spent in hospital has reduced, as have recovery time and complications.
However, it is important to remember that total knee replacements are still a highly invasive procedure where surgeons are chopping out bone and replacing it with synthetic substitutes.
As a result, it is still possible to get complications, even minor ones, and these can take many months, sometimes years, to resolve.
Generally, at two years, we would expect you to have fully recovered, but if you are still getting nerve pain it is important that you see your surgeon again.
It might be the case that you need more specific rehabilitation physio or something more interventional, but your surgeon will know your knee best.
Q) I’M 36 and have a small lump (slightly bigger than a pea) on my calf muscle that is only visible when standing and putting pressure down.
I have noticed this for about six months.
It hasn’t got any bigger nor does it cause me any pain or discomfort. I was wondering what the cause of this could be.
Chris Kelly, Birmingham
A) Sometimes lumps that only become visible when standing or under pressure are vascular and can be the start of a varicose vein.
The differential for lumps and bumps on our legs is large and can be anything from ingrown hair-sebaceous cysts to fatty lumps known as lipomas.
When you stand, the pressure of gravity causes our veins to fill with blood, and if one of the valves in our veins (which stops the blood falling back down) fails, then the blood pools and a small hard lump can form. It disappears when you massage it or raise your leg above your heart.
Varicose veins will affect most of us to varying degrees as we get older.
And while some can cause skin complications, discolouration, itching or even ulceration, the vast majority are mild and have only a cosmetic impact.
Keep an eye on it and if it changes, gets bigger or you are worried, go and see your doctor.