Can Thumb Joint Replacement Help You Avoid Removing Bone?

If you have thumb pain from arthritis at the base of your thumb, you may have heard about surgery that removes a small bone called the trapezium. But what if there was another option?

This article looks at a newer type of surgery called total joint arthroplasty, which means replacing the whole joint with an artificial one. Researchers wanted to see if this approach could help people keep their bone and still get rid of pain.

Here are three important things you will learn:

• What joint replacement surgery is and how it works for the thumb
• How well people recovered after surgery
• What results the study found after about two years

What Is Thumb Arthritis?

Thumb arthritis happens at the base of your thumb where it meets your wrist. This spot is called the CMC joint. CMC stands for carpometacarpal, which is just a fancy word for the joint between your wrist bones and your thumb bone.

When the cartilage wears away, moving your thumb can hurt. Simple things like opening a jar or turning a key become difficult.

Doctors classify thumb arthritis into different stages. Stage III means the arthritis is quite advanced. The joint shows clear damage on X-rays.

What Did Researchers Study?

Here is where it gets interesting. Traditionally, many surgeons remove a small bone at the base of the thumb when arthritis gets bad. This bone is called the trapezium.

Instead of removing bone, these researchers used a different approach. They replaced the damaged joint with an artificial one. Think of it like getting a new hinge for a door that does not open smoothly anymore.

The artificial joint they used had two parts. One part was made of metal. The other part was made of a special plastic called polyethylene. The joint did not need cement to hold it in place.

Let us look closer at what makes this study special. The researchers wanted to know if keeping the bone and using a replacement joint would help people return to their normal activities faster.

Who Was in the Study?

The study took place from January 2018 to October 2023. During that time, 34 patients met the requirements to be in the study.

All patients had stage III arthritis in their thumb. This means their arthritis was serious enough to show clear damage.

All patients were older than 60 years. They had first tried treatments that did not involve surgery. These treatments did not work well enough, so surgery became the next option.

The researchers made sure to choose patients carefully. They did not include people with certain other health problems that might affect healing.

What Did They Find?

You may be wondering why this matters. The results show what happened after an average of 25.1 months. That is about two years after surgery.

Grip Strength Improved

Research shows that grip strength reached 87.75% of what the other healthy hand could do. This means if you could squeeze with 100 units of force with your good hand, the operated hand could squeeze with almost 88 units.

That is a strong recovery. Most people need good grip strength to do everyday tasks like carrying groceries or holding a coffee cup.

Pain Went Down

According to this study, pain scores on the Visual Analogue Scale dropped to just 1. This scale goes from 0 to 10, where 0 means no pain and 10 means the worst pain imaginable.

A score of 1 means almost no pain. Before surgery, these patients likely had much higher pain scores.

Daily Activities Got Easier

The researchers used something called the QuickDASH questionnaire. This tool measures how hard it is to do things with your arm, shoulder, and hand.

Studies indicate that the QuickDASH score was just 1 after surgery. This suggests patients found it very easy to do their daily activities again.

Thumb Motion Recovered

The range of motion means how far you can move your thumb in different directions. After surgery, patients got back 81% of the motion compared to the side that was not operated on.

Being able to move your thumb freely matters. You use it for pinching, grasping, and many other movements throughout the day.

X-Ray Findings

On X-ray images, doctors noticed something called metacarpal subsidence in all patients. The metacarpal is the long bone in your thumb. Subsidence means the bone settled down a little bit into its new position.

This happened in 100% of patients. But this did not seem to cause problems. Patients still recovered well and had good function.

What About Complications?

Only 2 patients out of 34 had complications. That equals 6.9% of the group. This is a low rate.

The study does not give details about what those complications were. But the low number suggests the surgery was generally safe for this group of patients.

Common Questions

How long does it take to get back to normal activities?

According to this study, patients were asked about their return to activities of daily living. The results showed significant improvement by the first 12 months after surgery. Most patients regained independence in doing everyday tasks during that first year.

Is joint replacement better than removing the bone?

This study focused only on joint replacement results. The researchers concluded that for active patients over 60 years old with stage III arthritis, total joint replacement preserved independence and improved quality of life. However, the study did not directly compare it to bone removal surgery.

Will my thumb look normal after surgery?

The study measured function and strength but did not specifically discuss appearance. Research shows that patients regained 81% of their motion and 87.75% of their grip strength, which suggests the thumb worked well after healing.

What age is best for this surgery?

Studies indicate that this particular approach was studied in patients older than 60 years. The researchers specifically chose this age group for their study. Whether younger patients would benefit the same way was not tested in this research.

About This Site

We created this site to help you understand medical research about thumb pain and rhizarthrosis. We read published scientific articles and explain them in simple language. Everything we share comes from real studies done by doctors and researchers. If you found this helpful, explore more articles on our site to learn about other treatment options and research findings.

What This Means for You

If you are over 60 and have serious thumb arthritis, joint replacement might be an option worth discussing with your doctor.

This study shows that patients who had this surgery got most of their strength and motion back. Their pain went down significantly. They could do their daily activities with much less trouble.

The surgery kept the bone in place instead of removing it. For many patients, that might be an advantage.

Remember that this was one study with 34 patients followed for about two years. More research over longer time periods will help us understand how well these joints last.

The most important step is talking with a hand surgeon. They can look at your specific situation and help you understand which treatment option fits your needs best.

Important Note

This article shares information from medical research. It is not medical advice. It does not replace talking with your doctor. Every person is different. What works for one person may not work for another. Always discuss your symptoms and treatment options with a qualified healthcare provider who can examine you and review your medical history.

Research Source

This article is based on research by Aita, Marcio Aurelio; Aita, Giulia Cordeiro; Rocha, Cleyton; Savaris, Sullivan; Leite, Mauricio; Cabanilla, Samuel Pajares, published in Revista brasileira de ortopedia in 2025.

https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0045-1812997