Golfer pain free after novel Interventional Radiology procedure in WA

Nobody is more surprised than Frank McGuire that he is back on the golf course after suffering years of knee pain.

“I have had differing degrees of pain for 10 years, ever since having a knee replacement in 2015 and further surgery in 2019. I was on painkillers and often withdrew from golf,” he said.

The turnaround in his condition came last year when interventional radiologists at Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) performed genicular artery embolization (GAE) to treat his debilitating knee pain.

It is a procedure that injects microparticles into the knee to block or reduce blood flow in the genicular arteries which supply blood to the knee joint. This can provide immediate and long-term pain relief by interrupting pain and inflammation signals.

Interventional Radiologist Dr Julian Soares said up to 15 per cent of patients can have ongoing pain after total knee replacements.

Four days after the procedure, Frank, 67, was teeing off at Hillview Public Golf Course in Kalamunda feeling pain free! He now plays twice a week on a 23 handicap.

He can kneel, rise from sitting to standing, walk upstairs and most importantly, walk on the golf course without a buggy and more importantly without pain – all things he previously took for granted.

“The speed at which the procedure improved my knee was absolutely amazing. To get my life back within four days of this procedure has left me incredibly grateful to Dr Soares and the team at RPH,” Frank said.

Dr Soares is undertaking a trial at RPH to further investigate the efficacy in GAE in painful knee replacements.