Anyone have experience with suspension arthroplasty for CMC joint?

I have had LRTI surgery on both hands (2005 for left and 2011 for right). Things went very well both times. However, I needed the tightrope solution on my right hand in 2019. The hand surgeon had never done one, and I found a different doc who had done several - at the U of P in Philly. The healing process was quick, and I took no pain meds. I moved to Durango, and started having issues with the right thumb/wrist being unable to pinch or pick things up without pain. The hand surgeon here, suggested it was the clip on my thumb holding the thight rope. Apparently, conventional wisdom dictates that after several surgeries, there is enough scar tissue to hold up the thumb. I checked that with the original doc in Philly and he agreed with the above statement. So I had the procedure. All went fine, again quick recovery. Now I have bad pain again (I did fall and break my wrist then 7 months later required carpel tunnel surgery - yes right hand). That recovered, but things are not great. Doc says thumb needs a “re-do”, but he’s not willing to do it as my thumb has bad arthritis and he’s afraid to drill another hole in the base. I guess I’ll have to live with this. There are replacement joints for thumb but doc says they have not proven successful. Good luck with your recovery!

I am 2 weeks post-op. For 2 years or more I handled my arthritic MCP joint with conservative treatment. I did a great deal of research before making my decision to have surgery. I was an OR nurse for many years so I have that as my perspective. The “original” procedure for this is referred to as “The Anchovy Procedure” and it entails a tendon transfer from the forearm that is curled into the space where the arthritic joint has been removed. It is old technology and the recovery time is protracted and difficult. I searched for hand surgeons who performed suspensionoplasty surgery and had to travel from my home town to find one. The procedure I originally was looking for is called a suture button suspensionoplasy but apparently after it was developed several other variations have been developed. In the end my surgery was performed with a fixative wire.
Make no mistake, this is not a decision to be taken lightly. Unfortunately, the first 24 hours were extremely difficult for me as the half cast brace was applied too tighly and had to be removed.
They sent me home with Tramadol as needed and 800mg of Ibuprophen (Advil) 4x/day. The first week was pretty painful and even though I was very religious about ice and elevation and the Advil, I still had significant swelling and completely numbness in my thumb and index finger. The rest of the fingers were somewhat numb. Sadly, the Tramadol is not sufficient to manage the pain. However, there is such caution now in the medical community in the use of narcotics, it is almost impossible to get them prescribed. That is a soapbox for another time. The original half cast was replaced with a removable (only at shower time) hard brace. This brace sits on top of my incision and I find it irritating. Now 2 weeks post op, I will begin PT in 2 days and really nervous because the pain has increased in the last 2 days probably because I’ve been using my hand too much. You really cannot know until you do this how often you use both hands. If you don’t have a sympathetic partner, don’t even think about having this surgery. I have also read that even with this modernized procedure, the recovery will be 3 months. I know I’ll be happy later, but right now I am having “buyer’s remorse”. Good luck with your decision.

LOL. As a retired OR nurse I said to my surgeon, “no offense but I don’t believe anything doctors tell me”. His expression was also priceless. They have no empathy. If they told the truth, they’d be out of business

Please be patient with yourself. You are right, that for a tiny bone, this is really has a major impact. Overuse was the culprit with my pain as well, on both hands - I had the button on the first, the wire on the right, and both are doing great years later.

It does get better, and not having to worry about dropping things or being in pain is great. I also used a paraffin dip to ease the stiffness and pain in my thumbs - ask your OT if you can try it before therapy starts.

Is your hard brace custom made by the OT?
If it is a hard brace "off the shelf" they can soften and adjust it until it fits more comfortably. If not, they can find another brand, type or size of splint that is more comfortable, or custom make one for you from heat-malleable plastic.
If it is custom made, they can adjust it (even at every session if needed) until it is right. One of mine is very odd-looking because they had yo create a bulge in it so it did not rub on the incision area. Make sure you use your hand with it for several minutes after any adjustment before you say "It's okay" - and it may need to be adjusted as you progress.
And always wear a sleeve inside any brace to protect your skin - I use fingerless spandex gloves instead of the flimsy stuff they provided and washed them each night.
I am YEARS out from my surgeries on both thumbs, and still use the splints today to protect my thumbs when doing heavy work - digging, shoveling, pounding...

Good luck, and please let me know how you are progressing.