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Through its Hand Therapy Center, Orthopaedic Associates of Allentown Ltd. is offering people with severe arthritis of the thumb a new replacement procedure that promises long-lasting pain-relief and use of their hands.
Arthritis at the small joint of the base of the thumb known as the basal or carpometacarpal joint (CMC) is fairly common. The condition occurs most often in people over 40, especially women, and can affect both hands.
The condition can be very painful and limit hand strength and function.
Typically, physicians treat the condition with ice, anti-inflammatory drugs and/or cortisone injections into the joint. Sometimes splinting the wrist and thumb helps.
However, if those treatments fail, surgery may be a last resort. The goal of the surgical procedure, known as arthroplasty, is to create a new joint.
Traditionally, arthroplasty of the thumb includes removing the small arthritic bone and filling the space with a rolled up section of tendon. The soft tissue forms a "false joint."
The conventional surgery works best in older patients who don't put much stress on their hands, says Richard Battista, M.D., one of three fellowship-trained hand surgeons in the Salisbury Township-based orthopaedic group. The problem is, he says, younger patients with bad arthritis are going to outlive and place high demands on the reconstruction.
Another surgical option involves fusion, "but...