I am 55 and have pain at the base of my thumb. My doctor wants me to have surgery to fix the joint. Will this make the pain go away?

The surgery your doctor has in mind is probably arthrodesis. This procedure stabilizes the joint so the bones can grow together properly.

Research suggests that this procedure can be very effective for patients your age. A recent article reported the results of arthrodesis for 59 joints. Patients were between 41 and 73 years-old (average = 54). Like you, they had pain where two small bones meet at the base of the thumb.

About seven years later, patients were asked to rate their pain on a scale from one to 10, with one being no pain. On average, patients said their pain was next to nothing at 1.5. All but one of the patients said they would have the surgery again given the same circumstances. The researchers concluded that arthrodesis gives good, lasting pain relief to patients your age who have arthritis in the base of the thumb.