Surgeons warned that he was likely to lose his leg unless they tried the new stem cell technique.
"Receiving that news is pretty devastating," Kent said.
Orthopedic surgeon Anan Shetty removed stem cells from the bone marrow in his patient's hip.
These were mixed with a new collagen gel called Cartifill to make a paste or glue, which was smeared into the fractures. They finally fixed his leg in a metal cage to gently squeeze the bones together.
The cage was removed at the beginning of December, six months after the stem cell procedure.
Shetty described how he had put all his weight on Kent's leg, but the bones remained solid.
"He has really surprised us. This is an amazing technique," the surgeon said of Kent. "He won't be able to run for about a year, but after 18 months his bones will have healed completely. I'm sure he'll be able to go back and rock climb again."
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