Top surgeon is performing pioneering new treatment at Brighton hospital

Earlier this year, Adam Ajis became the first surgeon in the country to use a new implant to repair ligaments in the leg.

He has also recently performed the first Mi-Eye arthroscopy procedure on a patient’s ankle.

Now he has started performing the pioneering Prophecy Total Ankle Replacement at Nuffield Health Brighton Hospital.

Engineers from the United States played a pivotal role in the success of this operation.

Mr Ajis, orthopaedic consultant, said: “As a surgeon, this pioneering procedure is an exciting milestone in medicine and in science.

“But it is particularly exciting to those who suffer from osteoarthritis in their ankles.

“This can be terribly painful and although we have come a long way with replacements, there is still a certain amount of guesswork involved when it comes to the alignment and placement of a prosthetic joint, which is greatly reduced when using this new procedure.”

A Prophecy Total Ankle Replacement uses an exact 3D model of a patient’s ankle to aid implantation of the prosthetic joint.

Patients receive a CT scan at Nuffield Health Brighton before their results are sent to engineers in the US who create an exact replica of the patient’s ankle using a state-of-the-art 3D printer.

Once the size and implant position are recreated using 3D computer models, Mr Ajis approves them on line after fine tuning and making any necessary adjustments.

From this, customised cutting blocks are constructed specific to the patient’s unique anatomy to increase precision during surgery.

These customised parts are then sent to the hospital and are used to help implant the new ankle.

Mr Ajis performed this procedure successfully on a patient at Nuffield Health Brighton Hospital.

He said: “It has definitely been a year of firsts for me at the Nuffield Health Brighton Hospital but I’m very lucky to be in a position where I can use modern techniques and equipment to achieve greater results for my patients.”

Nuffield Health is a not-for-profit UK healthcare organisation which has been looking after people for more than 60 years.

It runs a network of hospitals, medical clinics, fitness and wellbeing clubs and diagnostic units across the UK.

It also supports businesses in looking after their staff by operating their fitness and wellbeing facilities services.

It offers access to the largest network of physiotherapists outside of the NHS.