I'm weighing up surgery on my thumb joints
Posted , 148 users are following.
I have osteo arthritis of both thumb joints. I'm 70, still very active ( currently on a skiing holiday) and work full time in my business. My condition is getting increasingly painful. I get by with painkillers. I have seen a surgeon but I'm really concerned about the long recovery time.
Has anyone here had basal thumb surgery and if so would you mind describing...briefly...what the surgery and recovery like and any complication. I would be most grateful.
Cheers.
10 likes, 917 replies
JohnBall caringbah
Posted
Hi all,
I am new to this board and like many, I am heading to CMC surgery. I live in Kentucky and am trying to identify surgeons who do the mini tightrope. I have already been made aware of two, for which I am VERY grateful. Traveling is not a problem, please let me know if you have knowledge of a surgeon who does this procedure. THANK YOU.
robin47024 JohnBall
Posted
Hi My physician is Kenneth Unruh. His # is 913.362. 0031. You could call and see if he does this procedure. He is Mayo trained.
Good Luck!
Robin
janet57817 caringbah
Posted
HELLO!
I know its been three years since you contemplated surgery, but I'm just wondering if you went ahead with it. I'm supposed to have a CMC Arthroplasty with internal brace on MAY 17. Of course, now Im having second thoughts. Any input would be appreciated.
THANKS!
Janet O
Devonia janet57817
Posted
Hi Janet
I went ahead with my surgery on my left thumb in Summer 2017. I had a trapeziectomy. I decided to live with the right hand as it is for now. My left hand is weaker and not as dexterous but can use my thumb, whereas I'd got so some days I couldn't. I still get aches in the base of the palm, especially if I've been using my hands a lot (crochet etc).
However, I'm glad I had it done as it was not going to improve on its' own.
Good luck with your forthcoming surgery!
robin47024 janet57817
Posted
Actually you may have me confused with someone. I decided to have surgery in Nov and had it Feb 4th. I'm doing well. I had 2 knee surgeries on April 11th and Sept 13th 2018. The pain from those surgeries was worse than the thumb pain. the hardest things now are typing, still little hard to maneuver a fork, but have not had much pain at all. I didn't have pain before just had a thumb joint that was very bad. Please ask any questions you want.
peter34761 janet57817
Posted
I had both my thumbs done in the last 3 years, and it is the best move I ever made. Seriously it is as though there was never a problem, absolutely no pain unless I try to do something extreme with the thumbs, which you would get with a normal thumb in any case. I have total flexibility and I would say 99% strength. It looks funny if I put both my hands together I have what I call "bookend" scars, one is the mirror image of the other.
It should work out for you if you use a reputable surgeon who is an old hand at doing this procedure. And yes there is a recuperation period and all the exercises etc, but in my case it has all worked perfectly.
Cheers
Peter
caringbah janet57817
Posted
Hi Janet, no i have not had any surgery and i dont intend to. I'm having PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injections instead. i have them every three months. My right thumb has improved 90% and my left thumb has improved 60%. Takes about half an hour for both thumbs. I'm pretty happy with the result.
I work full time and cant afford the long recovery time and haphazard outcomes. Some people have good outcomes and others end up worse than they started....that would be a fate too horrible to contemplate.
I intend to exhaust every non surgical option before i would even consider going under the knife. PRP is working well for me at the moment. There is another lady on this forum who has been having PRP for the last three years with great success.
Cheers
janet57817 caringbah
Posted
Thank-you!
I will have to read about. I have ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTOSIS . My platelets are abnormally high--600000-800000. It may not be an option for me since my platelets are somewhat abnormal.
Janet O
Willysman caringbah
Posted
Its been a couple years now since I had the surgery. I don't have the pain in that joint like I used too and you can hardly tell where I had it done. The surgery wasn't too bad but it takes a while for the grip to come back around to use it again. If your asking about the precedure ,yes I would do it all over again.
judy46008 Willysman
Posted
did it on my non dominant hand 1-1/2 years ago and doing my dominant hand this month. went well with the first one, fully functional at 6 weeks, but not full restoration for 6 months as my Dr. told me. i was very pleased with the end result.
gregory_02122 caringbah
Posted
HI Y'ALL (as we say in the south of the US,)
I'm now six months post-op of right CMC arthroplasty.The surgical procedure I had was the suspension with removal of the trapezium and tight rope suspension. I have mixed reviews as to the results. I'm 63, very active, and fairly fit for my age. I had fairly severe OA in the right CMC joint. I knew only a couple of others who had the surgery before I did, both of whom recommended it.
It was not the easiest of surgeries, actually quite painful in recovery. I'm right handed and I knew not to expect miraculous results but I must say, at this point I am quite disappointed.
I still have considerable pain in the new joint along with a great deal of popping and difficulty of use. I really thought by now that everything would be pretty much peaches. I've been asked if I would recommend the surgery. At this point I would have to say no but the jury is still out. My surgeon seems unconcerned that I am still having so much difficulty. I will check back in within the next three months and give an update.
janet57817 gregory_02122
Posted
Hello! Sorry to hear that you are not having the best results. What is your surgeon saying about all of this? I'm an OR nurse and when something is not working right, I like to know why that is...as I am sure you do too. What's the popping all about? I just talked to my sister-in-law this afternoon. She had the traditional tendon transfer procedure for her CMC arthritis, and she had great results. If you don't get improvement, can you have a re-do?
Janet O
judy46008 gregory_02122
Posted
i was told to expect at least 6 months for the same procedure and that was right on. i still have occasional pain but much better than before.
gregory_02122 caringbah
Posted
I forget to mention that I am a pianist. I had not been able to play without significant discomfort for about eighteen months before the surgery and I am still in pain when I try to play. This is so disheartening to me as piano is so important to my overall well being. I do pray that I regain my ability soon.
Devonia gregory_02122
Posted
That's tough . I'm also a pianist/woodwind player & teacher. I have a more limited reach on my post op hand, but as I'd got to the stage of sometimes not being able to hold cutlery, or turn a page in a book or music then I knew it was certainly time I had surgical intervention. I was diagnosed with the problem in both thumbs but left progressed downhill quicker. I'll persevere without surgery on right hand for now but if it gets to the same place then will opt for treatment . I do sometimes have days when its not that good but I live with that .
After my surgery on left thumb I had CRPS which took a while to go .
nancy132911 Devonia
Posted
I had CMC arthroplasty with tendon reconstruction on my right hand on October 2, 2018. I had the same surgery on my left hand in February 2019. After 6-1/2 months my right hand is almost back to normal. I do not have quite the prior motion in my wrist, such that I cannot put it in a 90-degree push-up position. Other than that, my hand is great. I have had almost no pain in my right hand since the surgery. Physical therapy was pain-free. My grip strength is very good. I no longer have any of the former thumb joint pain that I had prior to the surgery. What a relief!
The surgery on my left hand yielded slightly different results, but equally as good. With my left hand I had full range of motion in my fingers immediately after surgery. With my right hand my fingers had been very stiff and took many weeks of physical therapy to get them back to normal. With my left hand I have had more pain and my wrist is very stiff up to the tendon incision point. I would say the pain has been no more than a 2 or 3 occasionally and now the pain is very seldom. I can do much more with my left hand at this stage after surgery than I could with my right (even though I am right hand dominate). I was in a soft cast for two weeks after surgery, then a hard cast for two weeks, and now I wear a very small neoprene wrist and thumb support most of the time. I remove it if I am showering, reading or otherwise not using my thumb. I will see my surgeon next week, at which time he will probably reduce the time for wearing the splint, as he did with my right hand.
I am very happy that I had the surgery on both of my hands and that I had them done 5 months apart. Both my doctor and my hand therapist are very happy with my results. It is so wonderful not to have the constant, and at times unbearable, arthritic pain at the base of my thumbs. As others have said, find a doctor who has done hundreds of these surgeries for the best outcome. I hope all of you have excellent results, as I have.