Thumbs up: New thumb joint replacement surgery relieves arthritis pain

Mary Wolf meets with UChicago Medicine orthopaedic surgeon Jeffrey G. Stepan, MD, MSc. (Julian Romano)

The osteoarthritis pain in Mary Wolf’s left thumb was so sharp and intense, it sometimes woke her up in the middle of the night.

It throbbed when she tried to grip or pinch things, making two of her favorite activities — cooking and knitting — nearly impossible.

Daily tasks were also tough: To close a sandwich bag, she would have to tuck it under her left arm and use her “good” right thumb to help zip it shut.

Steroid shots every four months brought temporary relief over a period of three years, but they became less effective over time.

“The pain was ridiculously impacting my life,” said Wolf, 63, a retired fifth grade teacher.

Last spring, Wolf found new hope.

Jeffrey G. Stepan, MD, MSc, her orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Chicago Medicine, became one of only a few hand surgeons in the United States to train on an innovative new implant surgery that replaces a patient’s arthritic thumb joint with a small, prosthetic version.

When the surgery became available at UChicago Medicine in May 2026, Wolf didn’t hesitate.

“I said, ‘Sign me up,’” she said. “I had to do something drastic to change this.”

Video Transcript

This procedure is basically a new procedure for base of thumb arthritis. What we previously did for basal joint arthritis, in terms of surgical options, is what we actually did was remove one of the bones at the base of the thumb. So, basically, remove the joints.

And so, for our new procedure that we are doing, it's an implant that we're putting into the base of the thumb, with basically a ball and socket joint, which is a little bit different and new.

The biggest thing about this procedure is that the recovery process has been a lot faster, the pain has been a lot less, the quicker return to mobility and strength than the previous procedure, which I think is one of the biggest benefits to this new implant arthroplasty for the thumb.

So, Mary had basal thumb arthritis that had been significantly affecting her activities of daily living, affecting the types of things that she wanted to do with her life.

And she had done bracing, she had done injections, she had done all of the conservative management, but was looking for a solution to basically just get rid of the pain and allow her to get back to all of her activities that she liked to do.

My name is Mary Wolf. I'm a 63-year-old retired schoolteacher. Like many others, I suffer from osteoarthritis. Mine began in my fingers and quickly developed in the base of my thumb joint on my dominant hand, which was my left hand. And I sought relief because the pain was debilitating.

I can't say enough good things about Dr. Stepan and his staff. I've been going regularly for shots for a couple of years now. Everybody was so remarkably thoughtful and caring about everything they did.

If you really stop and think about it, we use our thumbs for almost everything we do. To have the possibility that I would be able to use my thumb again fully and without pain was joyful. I never think about my thumb, and it has been that way since the minute I got the cast off. I have zero pain. I have had zero pain.

I never have to think about what I can do, what I can't do. I don't think about it at all.

This has an ability to potentially revolutionize how we treat the base of the thumb arthritis in terms of surgical options, in terms of getting patients back to doing things that they like much quicker.

How does a thumb osteoarthritis implant work?

Thumb osteoarthritis, which causes joint pain at the base of the thumb, is a common condition that affects millions of Americans. It occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the end of the bones wears away, causing bones to rub against one another.

It’s most common in people over age 50, and it affects women more often than men, according to the American Society for Surgery for the Hand, a medical specialty society.

Treatment starts with a thumb brace, hand therapy and steroid injections.

If the thumb pain persists, patients may choose to have thumb carpometacarpal joint trapeziectomy — a surgery that involves removing the arthritic joint. Although the surgery is effective and has high satisfaction rates, recovery can be painful and take 6 to 9 months, Stepan said.

Meanwhile, doctors in Europe have been performing a simpler and more efficient version of this surgery, using an implant called TOUCH CMC 1 Prosthesis, since 2018.

“Instead of removing the arthritic joint, they were replacing the joint with this implant,” Stepan explained.

Patients who had this implant were pain-free and regained thumb movement in less than six weeks, Stepan said. But the implant, which uses a ball-and-socket design, wasn’t approved for use in the U.S.

When Stepan heard that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was going to approve this implant, he flew to France in April 2026 to learn how to do the surgery. He is one of only a handful of surgeons in the U.S. who are trained and approved to perform this surgery.

Dr. Jeffrey Stepan with patient

After Stepan performed her surgery, Wolf has regained mobility in her thumb and is enjoying life again. (Julian Romano)

Thumb osteoporosis joint replacement surgery ‘absolutely life-changing’

Wolf had her surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center in Hyde Park on May 20, 2026, and she was in and out of the hospital in less than five hours.

She received twilight anesthesia and a nerve block in her shoulder, so she didn’t have feeling in her left arm for 24 hours. But she experienced no side effects. She wore a splint to immobilize her thumb for two weeks, but she was able to move it in “teeny circles” without pain just two days after the surgery.

“I haven’t had any pain since that first night,” she said. “The surgery was absolutely life-changing.”

Since then, Wolf has resumed her cooking and blanket-knitting project.

Stepan, who performed his third thumb osteoporosis joint implant surgery in June, said the option is available for anyone who has struggled with pain in the base of their thumb and wasn’t helped by standard treatments.

“Patients are quickly getting back their strength and getting back their motion,” he said. “Everyone’s been doing really well.”

Jeffrey G. Stepan, MD, MSc

Jeffrey G. Stepan, MD, MSc, is a highly skilled orthopaedic hand and upper extremity surgeon specializing in the treatment of traumatic injuries and atraumatic conditions of the hand, wrist, and elbow in adult and pediatric patients.

Learn more about Dr. Stepan