Elton John has undergone multiple surgeries over the years, from a double knee replacement to prostate cancer surgery

Elton John has shared how he transformed his kneecaps into a unique fashion statement following a double knee replacement in 2024.

In a short documentary last year, discussing the role of gold in his life both on and off stage, the 78-year-old music icon said: “When I had my kneecaps removed, the left one first and then the right, I asked my surgeon if I could keep the kneecaps, which he was rather startled about.”

He sought the expertise of jewellery designer Theo Fennell.

Fennell then detailed the intricate process of turning bone into wearable art: “We had to bake them to dry them out,” he explained. “Then they get raw like pumice stone, they’re very porous, and so we had to paint them with acetate and then just polish them up.”

Proudly displaying a gold-framed necklace housing a piece of bone, Elton said: “My right kneecap. That’s my right patella. My surgeon said I had the worst knees he’s ever operated on.”

He likened the appearance of the bone fragment to an “That hole was actually in my kneecap. It looks a bit like an old artefact from Egypt.”, reports the Mirror.

Elton praised Fennell’s craftsmanship, particularly praising the chain made of bones: “I honestly think these are timeless pieces that will last for centuries.”

Fennell added his own thoughts: “I just thought it would be more fun to have a necklace that reflected the thing at the end of it.”

The reverse side of the necklace bears a Latin inscription translating to “I will no longer bow to any man.”, prompting the designer to joke: “Which of course you can’t do with a kneecap missing.”

Elton had previously revealed at the premiere of his biopic ‘It’s Never Too Late’ regarding his health struggles: “I don’t have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix. I don’t have a prostate. I don’t have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee.”

He added: “In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip. But I’m still here. And I can’t thank you [enough], you’re the people that made me.”

Back in 2013, he was forced to postpone tour dates due to appendicitis, with a spokesperson revealing he made, “superhuman efforts” to perform despite being unwell. Surgery to remove his appendix followed later.

Elton has also been managing Type 2 diabetes since the early 2000s, which compelled him to make drastic alterations to his eating habits.

“I can have an apple, I can eat a bit of melon. As long as you’re sensible about it, it doesn’t shoot your blood sugar up. But what I crave is chocolate and ice cream, I can’t have any ice cream,” he once revealed.

Subsequently in 2017, he received a prostate cancer diagnosis. He opted for surgery rather than chemotherapy, believing this would be less emotionally demanding on his family.

Nevertheless, he experienced serious complications following the operation that almost cost him his life. In his autobiography ‘Me, Elton’ he also disclosed he was merely “24 hours from death” after developing a rare infection.

“In the hospital, alone at the dead of night, I’d prayed: please don’t let me die, please let me see my kids again, please give me a little longer,” he wrote.