Jinggoy suffers knee ‘snap’

MANILA, Philippines — Detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada suffered a meniscus tear on his left knee on his way to a hospital in San Juan yesterday.

The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division allowed Estrada, who is facing plunder charges over the flood control scandal, to undergo knee X-ray at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center due to “persistent pain in both knees.”

While preparing to leave for the hospital, Estrada’s left knee snapped, according to his camp.

Fernando Syquia, the orthopedic doctor who checked on Estrada, said it must have been painful for the senator when he heard a loud pop in his left knee.

“Sometimes, if the position of your knees is wrong, just the act of standing up can cause the meniscus to squeeze,” Syquia told reporters. “If you’re unlucky, that would be torn.”

Asked to rate the level of pain he was experiencing on a scale of 1 to 10, Estrada gave a 9.5.

The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of rubbery cartilage located between the thighbone and the shinbone.

Syquia has prescribed the senator anti-inflammatory medication to help ease the pain in his left knee.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) denied that Estrada slipped while taking a bath at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas.

“According to him, he was walking at around 11:30 a.m. when his knee snapped and it hurt so much,” BJMP spokesman Jail Supt. Jayrex Bustinera said.

Estrada has been suffering from osteoarthritis, according to his legal counsel.

Syquia said if X-ray results alone would be the basis, Estrada needs a knee replacement surgery.

“But as I always tell my patients, the reason for surgery is not the X-ray findings but whether (the pain) bothers them or not,” he said. – Emmanuel Tupas