Would like hear from people with finger joint replacements or fusions

hi laury, i have severe osteo in many joints, some worse than others, have had reconstruction surgery on right thumb with carpel tunnel surgery. have to tell you the thumb reconstruction was a blessing for sure.
also have had a lot of different things done in my rt shoulder, was a hugh help.
a rod and screws in my lumbar spine, 8 m. ago, still getting better, lost a lot of pain there too. my rt big toe fused itself, no replacement done as surgeon said in time it would have to be redone, so i let it fuse. no i can't bend big toe which is a tiny problem, now other toes getting crippled up.
my wrists are getting affected w/arth. but one thing at a time.
my close friend has rheumatoid arth. and a lot of surgery but most all has to be repeated.
ask your dr. what are all your options aside from replacements and so forth, don't be in a hurry, decide if you can let fusion happen on it own and if you could live that way. it all depends on joint and what you want and expect. ask that dr. to discuss opions with you and what dr feels is absolutely necessary. hope this helps.

I also have osteoarthritis in both hands and I have had pins put in a couple finger joints to replace failed joints. One the tip of my pointer finger and one the middle joint on my middle finger. Both of these fingers work fine but the middle joint replacement has caused a loss of the ability to make a tight fist. On my other hand I have had the middle joint replaced in my other middle finger - so not with a pin but with an actual joint. This finger hurts constantly even though the surgery was 4 and a half years ago. I was supposed to have full range of motion with this joint but frankly that never happened and it is as stiff as the other middle finger that has a pin in it. Maybe joint surgery is better now but I wish I had never done the joint replacement and instead just done another pin.

i just had my knuckle on my right hand replaced in Aug. The surgery went well, but when they positioned my arm for the surgery, they forgot about the he rotator cuff tear and arthritis in my right shoulder. I have been scheduled to have a total replacement with reversal in that shoulder 3 times due to me backing out. The pain in my shoulder was terrible. Now,I'm scheduled to have surgery in March. I never want to have pain like that in my shoulder again. The knuckle has gone fairly well, but it squeaks. Loud. Like a duck call.The pain has been reduced, so here we are. Is it perfect? No. But it will due.

LOOKING FOR ADVICE FROM THOSE WITH FINGER FUSIONS, ESPECIALLY IN THE PRESENCE OF DUPUYTREN'S
I have a Dupuytren's contracture of the ring and little fingers of the right hand. I stumbled and broke the fall with this hand fracturing the proximal phalanx near the PIPJ of my right hand little finger . Unfortunately the fracture did not heal well and the joint became frozen. I had this replaced with a hinged silicone joint. After 12 weeks, the joint still does not bend passively or actively. Additionally the DIPJ of this finger has little passive movement and little active movement. The entire hand is stiff and swollen in the am. My hand surgeon is suggesting a fusion of the PIPJ. I just don't know if this is the best thing to do. What limitations would I have with a fusion in terms of playing the piano, typing, gripping etc.

Hi everyone… I’ve had my right hand pointer finger fused with a screw. ( may 2022) Pain is gone and I’m happy that I did it. Haven’t had any issues with it being fused. If anyone has questions feel free to ask

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

hello. I have osteoarthritis in my middle finger. It feels okay ,as long as, I have a brace. My surgeon wants to fuse the middle joint on my right hand. I am an art teacher, and trying to decide what to do. I am taking Melexican in hopes it will help.

I have had. The joints in my thumbs removed due to arthritis. It's not fused nor does it have a pin. A tendon was cut And pulled into the space where the upper joint was removed. On the 1st one a pin was placed to keep it all in place, it was removed after healing. On the 2nd thumb the same procedure. Dr. told me pins were no longer needed. Just a wrapped cast. And hand splint. I'm happy to say both thumbs are pain free and fully functional. It's been over 5 years and they continue to feel fine

What was your pain like after the surgery? Did you do physical therapy either before or after your surgery?

I have had both my thumbs fused, but each one in a different location. I've had to teach myself how to write again. I would do it all over again, the pain is gone!