My name is Mark Emerton and I am a senior NHS consultant orthopaedic surgeon based in Leeds. I head Alliance Surgical’s 200-strong specialist knee replacement team, which together performs approximately 10% of all knee replacement operations in the UK each year.

As a patient who may require a knee replacement, we can promise you the very best treatment. We know you will be experiencing pain and discomfort and, as doctors, we are anxious to get you back to your normal way of life in the shortest time possible.

You will meet one of our team for an initial consultation when we will request any simple tests and x-rays to help us assess if a knee replacement is your best course of action.

If we do decide a procedure is necessary, we will discuss your treatment plan with you, agree a convenient date for you to come into hospital, explain your anaesthetic options and, most importantly, let you know the day you will walk out of hospital. This is normally three to four days after you are admitted.

Typically, you will come into hospital on the day of your surgery and within two to three hours you will walk to theatre. The procedure should take no longer than an hour.

By the following day, you’ll already have had a visit from your physiotherapist who will help you take those important first few steps, and you will see your consultant again.

You will continue to have physiotherapy. Normally and most importantly your treatment will run according to the plan we discussed at the first meeting, and you will walk out of hospital on the day we discussed.