A few years ago on a pleasant autumn evening, I was splitting the last of the wood that would carry me through the winter. As the sledgehammer crashed against the metal wedge for the umpteenth time, a piece of tempered steel flew off and lodged in my left thigh.

I went to our family doctor, a general practitioner. He made an incision and then used his probe to try and locate the metal. A little more cutting, and a little more probing. A little more cutting, and a little more probing. Nothing was said about an x ray. He finally closed the incision, unable to locate the metal chip. Today I still carry a scar of that trial-and-error experience.

In two weeks I am facing knee surgery I have put off for more than a decade. If I keep stalling, says a medical friend, I could be the proud recipient of a plastic knee down the road. So I've decided to take the step. A man in my congregation who had arthroscopic surgery recently has recommended his specialist, a highly trained surgeon with the University ...