Cyril Edwards sleeps on the lounge floor due to his knee injury, which he had repeatedly been denied publicly-funded surgery for until six weeks ago.

For two-and-a-half years Cyril Edwards lived with the pain of being denied a publicly-funded surgery.

The Christchurch man slept on the hardwood floor in his lounge, legs bent up at a 90 degree angle, as the pain in his knee spread to his back, making a good night's sleep in his bed impossible.

He had a large lump on his left knee and a limp on both sides of his body. His GP said he needed a full knee replacement. He believed he met Canterbury District Health Board's (CDHB) criteria for need for surgery, but it rejected him in 2014.

Six weeks ago Edwards received a letter saying he would finally get the surgery he had nearly given up hope of receiving. He is going under the knife on February 10.

"For the past year I have been deteriorating pretty badly. A year ago I could use a cane and go for long walks and see my grandkids play sport. Now I can't walk from the car park to the sports field.

"It's going to make all the difference in the world. I can't wait."

He and his wife had recently considered private surgery, but the pair would have had to mortgage their house to pay for it.

He said he was puzzled how, in the last 18 months, his two brothers received two new hips and three knees from the public health system between them "and I couldn't get a look in".

"My doctor did say it's a lottery and you're lucky whether your name gets called up or not."

He was not surprised at the number of people being denied first specialist appointments needed for surgery, but expressed disappointment.

"This is meant to be a first-world country."

Edwards said he suspected talking to Stuff about his difficulty in getting surgery might have changed the CDHB's stance.