Would like hear from people with finger joint replacements or fusions

I have arthritis on my left index finger. It is swollen I can’t bend it it’s crooked. My Mayo hand dr said he could a fusion go in take the arthritis out and fuse the bone or have knuckle replacement. I have a month to decide if I leave get worse. Any suggestions? I won’t cortisone I’ve them past other areas don’t work.

@robino63
If it's very painful and you don't mind losing mobility in the finger the fusion should help the pain.
Although I personally wouldn't have either procedure but if I had to choose I'd probably go for the joint replacement since it would hopefully improve some mobility.
Doctors want to replace both my shoulders but I won't allow it. Have you been to physical therapy.
Did the doctor suggest which procedure might accomplish your goal best.
Take care,
Jake

@jakedduck1

try gout medicine Allopurinol. I have HORRIBLE OA ... dumb doctors - it never occurred to them my pain and stiffness was due to gout! Try Zazzee Tart Cherry capsules on Amazon and see if it helps. Then you will know its gout and not the OA!

@loriesco Great suggestions, I will pass them on. Never thought of gout! By the way, how many milligrams? I saw 1000 and 3000. He has some preexisting conditions. Atrial fibrillation and he needs to lose weight. I found a website that I will share with him. It seems blood thinners can be a culprit also. Thank you so much!

@lawanna85 for 30 years I suffered with horrible arthritis. Exertion brings it on. Weather changes bring it on as well and not drinking enough clear fluids. I went to a lot of specialist. I asked a lot of questions. Absolutely none of them thought it might be gout, even though I had had to gout flares in 2002. Pretty crazy. I was just out there doing yardwork for a couple hours. Started moving really really slow so I came in and took an allopurinol. The tart cherry capsules are so cheap that if it doesn’t work, you can pass it on to someone else who it might work for I’ve had a lot of people tell me that it solved their problem in part or completely. It means your uric acid level is high. Mine was not out of range. That was the problem, but I know after all these years if my tests aren’t dead Center, I have a problem. Anyway good luck oh, and drink lots of fluids and eat a low purine diet. It’s the 3000 . Here’s the link Zazzee Tart Cherry 10:1 Extract,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CTKPKSX

Fusion vs replacement vs cleaning out the joint - depends on what you want that joint to do after the surgeons are done. Surgeons in my immediate area measure success solely on pain elimination - if the joint hurts, take it out, it doesn't hurt anymore, success!
Not. My big toe self-fused a several years ago - osteoarthritis. I used to do a lot of hiking in the mountains - difficult trails and climbs, but before surgery I walked with a limp, little toes and outside of foot cramped, and I often had to walk backwards to get out of some of the steeper areas. Surgeons wanted to completely fuse the joint. I found a surgeon in Portland who opened the joint and cleaned it out. That was over 2 years ago - I'm 70 and still walking straight and pan free - back do doing the difficult hikes.
Same with my left thumb - they wanted to do the LRTI or Tightrope procedures - take the joint out and it won't hurt anymore - and they told me I could still play golf! Yay! I appreciate the skills it takes to play that game but I haven't played since I was 14. I work with wood - sometimes odd shapes, and pinch strength is very important to me. LRTI eliminates pinch strength - so these surgeons all told me and that makes sense, but not for me. I had the Stablyx implant instead, 1 year ago, got my pinch strength back in a month. Still doing strength and flexibility exercises, but it is much better now.
We are individuals, and will react differently to each procedure - nothing is 100%. So I decided that the risks were worth taking to get what I wanted. So far so good. Some day I'll have to stop using these joints in the manner that I do, but not today.
Good luck to you all.
GregV