@deborah1031
Well.... I am the author or this post and I'm now 4 month post devernation surgery on my right hand and should have had my other hand done last month. I had such high hopes, but sadly it didn't work for me and in hindsight I wouldn't have had it done because I have more pain than before surgery. I was told I wouldn't need physical therapy with this surgery, but at my 6 week follow-up, the top of my thumb was still numb and I couldn't tell if the arthritis pain was gone because I still had additional pain and stiffness from the surgery. The surgeon said he still expected the numbness to subside with time (and it has) but suggested physical therapy. He said that because of my results with this hand, they would not recommend denervation on the other hand, which is actually has worth arthritis. I just wanted my dominant hand done first. That may also have been a mistake in retrospect. I've now been through 6 sessions of PT and have seen no improvement. I still have the same arthritic pain I had prior to surgery, but now I also have stiffness in my wrists and additional pain on the top of my thumb that I didn't have pre surgery. I'm really discouraged. My physical therapist said that they don't see many cases where denervation works, but they have good results with the bone removal surgery although it's more invasive, painful and the healing takes longer. The other thing that has become a concern is the cost of physical therapy. Three years ago when I broke my ankle, I had no copay for PT... which is what I was expecting with this round of PT. My insurance apparently changed at some point and it is now a $52 co pay each session. This adds up! I've paid more out of pocket for unsuccessful PT than I did for the actual surgery. If I opt for the bone removal, I'm looking at 3 months of PT (minimum and could go up to 6 months for slow healers) at 2-3 times per week, plus a 2 hour round trip drive to get to a hand specialist for the treatments. I'm considering toughing it out for another 1.5 years until I can get on medicare so physical therapy would be covered... IF they don't change that by then. I don't know if that helps or confuses the issue for you, but I know when I was looking, I couldn't find many people who'd had it done. I wish you the best.

@deborah1031 Instead of denervation, I elected CMC surgery on both hands, using the "trapeze" or suspension technique. Why? Because denervation, if it works, does nothing to preserve function - the joint continues to deteriorate, and at some point actually collapses. When that happens, fusion seems to be the only repair option.

I will not sugarcoat - recovery took quite a long time, with the first 5-6 weeks basically no use of thumb. PT and daily exercises took several months for full recovery (less than the old "anchovy" or rolled up tendon though.) It was annoying, but I managed to be back at my computer job after a few weeks.

What is it like today? The "old one" is over 15 years old, the new one nearly 7, and they function perfectly and without pain. I am retired and can sew, garden, paint and generally do anything I want. Would I do it again? Yes, and I would do as before, finding the BEST surgeon I could. I asked my hand therapist for recommendations.