AN orthopaedic surgeon has become the first in the country to use a new implant to repair ligaments in the leg.

Adam Ajis, a surgeon at Nuffield Health Brighton Hospital, used the implant made by medical device company Arthrex.

It has been designed to fix damaged ligaments to the leg bone.

Other implants used in the past during this procedure required a much larger hole in the leg bone and a metal screw to hold it into place.

Mr Ajis, pictured above, said: “The new implant has been designed so that only a small hole is needed to anchor the implant in place.”

It will benefit people who enjoy doing a lot of sports and have sustained damage to their ligaments that is affecting their ability to play.