My Medical Gateway Blog

After months of pain and uncertainty in the UK, Mr Rees made the decision to travel to Kaunas, Lithuania for partial knee replacement surgery with My Medical Gateway. Supported throughout by the MMG team, he underwent treatment at Nordclinic and returned home already feeling the benefits. Three weeks post-op, he is walking with growing confidence and looking ahead to an active, pain-free future he once thought was no longer possible.

For many UK patients, choosing to travel abroad for surgery is not an easy or impulsive decision. It often comes after a long period of pain, limited mobility and the growing realisation that waiting for treatment at home may mean putting life on hold indefinitely. That was exactly the position Mr Rees from Swansea found himself in before travelling to Lithuania with My Medical Gateway for partial knee replacement surgery at Nordclinic, the first orthopaedic specialist clinic MMG partnered with at the end of 2024.

When he first began speaking with the MMG team, Mr Rees was open about his worries. The surgery itself mattered, of course, but so did everything around it. Travelling to a country he had never visited before, navigating airports while in pain and trusting an overseas clinic all felt daunting. As he later reflected, “MMG’s help, support and calls really put myself and my wife at ease about travelling abroad for treatment and took away some of that stress before travelling for surgery.”

That reassurance did not happen overnight. Mr Rees needed time, conversation and clear explanations before committing. Those discussions helped him feel that he was not being rushed and that his concerns were being taken seriously. Looking back, he is clear about how important that support was. “I felt cared for from the moment I landed until I returned home,” he said. For patients in similar situations, that feeling of being guided rather than left to figure things out alone can make all the difference.

Now three weeks post-op and back home for two weeks, Mr Rees is already seeing tangible benefits from his surgery. “I am currently three weeks post-op from having my partial knee replacement at Nordclinic in Lithuania, and I couldn’t be happier with the results,” he explained. “Having been back home for two weeks now, I am already feeling some of the benefits.”

Those benefits are not just clinical measurements but real changes in everyday life. “I am now walking with more confidence every day,” he said, “and I am looking forward to getting back to an active, pain-free lifestyle that I thought was a thing of the past.” For someone who had been living with persistent knee pain, that sense of optimism had been missing for some time.

Mr Rees was also keen to highlight the quality of care he received in Lithuania. “My experience of Nordclinic was fantastic,” he said, before adding that the wider journey mattered just as much. “That was only made possible by the team at My Medical Gateway.” The coordination between clinic and support team helped create a smooth and reassuring experience from arrival through to his return to the UK.

Like many real patient journeys, there were practical frustrations along the way. Mr Rees encountered issues with airport assistance seating limits, airline seat allocation while travelling with crutches, and the challenge of smaller bathrooms in clinics and hotels when mobility is reduced. He was realistic about these points and quick to note that many were outside anyone’s control. During a follow-up visit at home, he laughed about them, recognising that no medical journey is entirely frictionless.

One frustration he did not laugh off was the reason he had travelled in the first place. The length of NHS waiting lists and the fact that he had to pay privately for surgery weighed heavily. That reality is familiar to many MMG patients and continues to drive people to seek timely care elsewhere. Reassuringly, upon his return home, Mr Rees had no issues when the NHS checked swelling in his leg, showing that overseas treatment and UK aftercare can work side by side.

Perhaps the strongest endorsement of his experience is what comes next. Mr Rees and his wife have already booked their return to Kaunas for his three-month scan. This time, it will also be a chance to enjoy the city. “I am looking forward to returning back to Kaunas for my three-month scan,” he said, “and being able to watch a local basketball game as well as see some of the sights of Kaunas.”

For Mr Rees, the journey to Lithuania was about far more than surgery. It was about regaining confidence, mobility and the belief that life does not have to be defined by pain or waiting lists. His story reflects exactly why MMG partnered with Nordclinic in the first place: to give patients access to high-quality orthopaedic care without unnecessary delay.

If you or anyone close to you would like to learn more about travelling to world-class European clinics like Nordclinic for orthopaedic treatment with My Medical Gateway, you can book online or call our Manchester call centre on 0161 9600 700 or visit www.mymedicalgateway.com to explore your options.