donna2001

Hi I was wondering if anyone can help I've been booked for some time to go to Vegas on the 28th Nov for my 40th birthday. Flying Newcastle Heathrow Las Vegas. I fell downstairs which has resulted in a very badly torn pattella tendon and I am having surgery on 23rd oct 2016. My consultant is hopeful that I can still fly, however I not sure if ba will let me fly as I may need to be in a removable knee split. I have requested disabled assistance in the airports and on/ off the planes. I have looked at the seat plan for my flight on seat guru and have booked 40f 40g seats both long haul legs as I am told seats are bulk head which may have more knee room, however Ba seat plan does not say these seats are exit row seats but seat guru states that the seats are. I understand that due to my surgery I won't be fit enough to in emergency exit rows. Could some confirm if this seat would be suitable or a better seat I need to be able to bend and extend my right leg. We are booked in economy and booked via travel agent so we are not able to upgrade online to premium, and have been told this could be very costly. I really still want to fly if possible. My consultant said that back slab split which is removable might make the flight more comfortable if ba will allow this. I did fly 19 years ago in back slab on a long haul flight but it was not with British airways. We have a group of friends who are flying the day before us so really don't want to let anyone down. Any advice would be greatly appreciated many thanks

orbitmic

Welcome to Fyertalk and the BA forum! I'm sorry about your fall and hope you get better soon. If your consultant think you are fine to fly, they should give you a "fit to fly" note to avoid any issue. I would avoid the bulkhead seats. Apart from the emergency issue, they often do not have great legroom. I would stick to a regular aisle.

Swanhunter

BA will allow you to travel if you have the cast split - I have done this with a broken wrist. No harm in getting a fit to fly letter too. Would strongly suggest you look at the premium to upgrade to WT+ at the airport as it will be much more comfortable with a dodgy knee. Worth also asking your TA what option they have?

BABoy84

As long as your cast has been on 48 hours you will be able to fly. Special casts seem unnecessary. A fit to fly note covers all bases. Your consultant may provide this or your GP (likely to charge).

https://www.caa.co.uk/Passengers/Bef...al-conditions/

rapidex

If you try to book an exit row seat on BA,the website will through up a warning about eligibility.If you got no warning it is not an exit row.

Swiss Tony

This might be stating the obvious but do advise your insurers that you have had this fall if you are indeed still intending to travel.

Trust me - i've been there and you don't want to be having conversations about this later.

BA6501

I've flown with a full cast on my arm with BA about 20 times over 2 months - never had an issue (and it hadn't been split), apart from about 3 days after getting it put on when the lounge angel wanted to see if I had a note (dated, to know how long it had been on) because it looked so fresh. Of course, no exits. Longest flight was about 6 hours.

corporate-wage-slave

This sounds like a very stressful lead-up to what should have been a celebration for you, so you have my sympathies. And I also need to welcome you to Flyertalk donna2001. You best avoid seatguru, it's not accurate for many airlines, and BA in particular, thebasource is a better location, and by the sounds of it you are on a 747:

http://www.thebasource.com/seatmaps/...2j36w235y.html

Now, I'm not an expert on this cabin but as rapidex says if it was regarded as an emergency row then there is a very clear statement on BA.com seat selection menus listing eligibility, which includes mobility factors, and you'd need to OK this. Asking to sit in an emergency row with reduced mobility won't be allowed, but this should be OK. If this is a conventional travel agent then they should tell you what the upgrade price would be, alternatively you could ring up after T-24 (but ideally before you've checked in) and see if there is an upgrade price then, then try again at LHR when you arrive from NCL.

Good luck over the next few weeks, hopefully this will get easier with the passing of time.

ZZ100

Having very recently recovered from a lacerated patella tendon that I picked up in an accident in Sri Lanka and required surgery to fix it hopefully I can share some insight. After four weeks, you will may just be starting to bend the knee again, however depending on the extent of your injury you may not even be able to do this yet. However, please don't expect to be able to sit onboard with your leg in the removeable splint, it comes up very high on your thigh and therefore the only way to sit in a chair wearing it is to be right on the very edge - incredibly uncomfortable.

Please do note the points about checking with your insurer before you leave for coverage. If I was in your position, I would seriously consider consider cancelling your trip and saving for a trip you will be able to enjoy when recovered. Having spent weeks 2 to 6 in the UK recovering from the same surgery you are having, getting around anywhere is difficult and time consuming. You will also be missing appointments with your consultant and physio in the UK which will be important for your recovery.

AlienInTheFatherland

I have been wearing a removable knee brace for the last seven weeks after an accident which left me with a dislocated patella, torn ligaments and meniscus damage.

Operation was carried out via keyhole surgery, so no kind of plaster etc. involved. Your case sounds the same kind of thing, but I am not an expert.

I flew shorthaul in Y four times before the operation (three weeks ago) and will also be doing so again next week.

My brace was initially restrained to sixty degrees and I managed to fit the leg in reasonably comfortably behind the seat in front of me. My only fear was that the passenger in front of me would (at worst suddenly) decide to recline their seat. So I politely asked them at the beginning of the filght if they would refrain from this, which they agreed to in all cases.

That said, things might be a bit different on long-haul flights, where I recall there is a lot more "reclining in Y".

If you can cover yourself from the risk of the passenger in front of you smashing their seat back on you, then I imagine you would be fine.

Keystone

One of my family ended up being offloaded from a long haul because their child had a severe food allergy and the Captain wasn't prepared to fly with them on board. They had declared the medical issue when booking over the phone to BA's Goldline and had been told there would be no problem. Their doctor said the child was fit to fly. But it's the Captain's decision not your doctors.

Consult
http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/...-and-pregnancy
for guidance, download the form, get your surgeon to complete it, send it to BA and get formal clearance from BA's Passenger Medical Clearance Unit. Whilst the Captain still has the right to refuse to carry you, they're going to pay a lot more attention to BA's own medics. In the case of my family they got the formal clearance and flew the following day.

You absolutely must tell your insurer. If you don't and you have some sort of problem in Las Vegas related to your knee you're likely to end up with a very big medical bill that you have to pay yourself.

If you haven't already bought travel insurance, you'll have to declare the problem when you buy it, and you may find that they exclude any problems relating to your knee. I once needed treatment in the US and I can testify that the first thing asked for was my credit card....

mike&co

Especially in the States..... Sound advice, and I'm sure you've already considered it but it will be a pre-existing medical condition and insurance companies will do absolutely anything these days to reject your claim should any problems arise.

donna2001

Hi thanks very much for all the replies. I have already informed my travel insurance of my my injury and of my pending operation. Insurance are happy for me to fly if I have consultant clearance, my cast or knee brace will have been in place for nearly 5 weeks when I am due to fly. When I booked the seats on ba no warning came up to say that the seat was emergency exit. I am going to contact my travel agent to see if we could upgrade and also ba directly to double check the seating and airport assistance. If it was only my husband and I traveling I would have just cancelled and claimed via insurance, however 14 family and friends are all going out for my birthday on different flights all over the U.K. I will be in cast for 3 weeks thigh to foot, however my consultant hopeful that he will have me in a hinged brace at week 3 with a hopefully 90 degree bend. He recommends I take split cast in case I need extra support. It's not idea I know and I don't think the flight will be comfortable at all, I could elevate my leg on my husbands seat for short periods also. Thanks everyone you've all been very helpful

CaroFos

HI Donna2001 - so sorry to hear about your knee troubles - what unlucky timing.. My daughter tore her tendons due to patellar dislocation this summer too.. .... i started a thread which might be useful in some way to read? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...xperience.html

I really wonder whether you might consider postponing until another time? Las Vegas if you've not been, involves an inordinate amount of walking ... the lifts to the walkways are often out of the way and you and your friends might find it very frustrating.. in my experience, provided you all have some sort of insurance cover, your party should be able to cancel... otherwise why not call BA and see if they might take pity and let you all rearrange? Of course neither of these options might work for you but definitely worth exploring I would say...

Back to my daughter, she came on holiday with us and I would definitely ensure you have a fit to fly certificate. our knee consultant wouldn't fill it in (too important!) but our GP did. but my daughter did not have a very good holiday... very imobile and in a lot of pain.. She was due to fly back on her own to go to a festival but we ended up having to buy her another ticket to come home because she couldn't fly on her own... insurance was not interested as it was an injury that happened prior to travel...

So I don't want to sound like a killjoy but if you can rearrange for another time, my experience would recommend that might be for the best all round... i hope you manage to resolve.. all the best.

AMENDMENT --- HMMMM Now see your dilemma re: postponing! it would clearly be quite a performance to rearrange! GOOD LUCK! I hope all works out... perhaps consider borrowing a wheelchair to take as you will get tired but at least you would have plenty of people to push you!

haasha

Rows 39 and 40 on B747 are certainly not exit rows, as I bitterly found out during one of my trips - exit is behind bulkhead, and you are in the middle part of cabin anyway. Row 40 has more space than 39, but nothing great.

In any case good luck with surgery and travels later on. For sure get the fit for travel papers, mainly for travel insurance.