Denervation(cutting the nerves) of the cmc joint

lee67

Hi,
4 years down the line I'm still suffering with pain,
Osteoarthritis of the cmc joint.
I've had steroid injections and arthroscopy and still in agony.
Now my consultant wants to do a procedure were he will cut the nerves to the joint in question...Has anyone had this done and if so what was the outcome?

dreamdaisy

Hello, I am reasonably conversant in anatomy but don't know where the cmc joint is. My best and ill-educated guess is that if the nerves are cut then pain may be reduced but I don't know. Chat things over with the doctors and see what information they can give you but, as with all surgical procedures, there's no guarantee of the perfect outcome. DD

lee67

Hi DD,
Looks like i forgot to mention cmc (carpometacarpal) joint is in the thumb.
I have discussed with my consultant and yes it's supposed to reduce pain, but after reading more about the procedure it looks like it's not really favoured by many surgeons due to the lack of success rates.
I have never heard of the procedure before my consultant told me and was hoping someone who has had it done say "yes I've had it done and it worked..no more pain"....maybe it's wishful thinking on my behalf...
thank you for taking the time to reply.
Regards

stickywicket

Hi lee67 and welcome from me too though I doubt I can help :roll: I don't think I can recall anyone on here having this op though I've a vague feeling one or two might have had nerves in their spine cut.

I've had a lot of trouble with my thumbs over the years and, yes, they can be very nasty, painful little so and sos. Nowadays my base joints are virtually fused and my higher ones are all too wiggly. I don't care as they've stopped hurting

I think it would be fair to ask your surgeon how many of these ops he's done and what the success rate is, pros and cons etc. From my – all too vast – experience, if you ask questions, docs will answer but, if you don't, they assume you don't want to know. Many don't.

weejim1961

I tore a rotor cuff muscle in my shoulder 4 years ago and every time I lifted my arm up, a nerve got trapped. I had a operation which went badly wrong which left me with constant nerve pain down arm (shocking). After a MRI scan the surgeon said he couldn't fix it, but I said i can't be left with this pain the rest of my life. So I had another operation and he cut a few nerves. The outcome is I can lift my arm and hold most things, but can't squeeze anything. But that suits me as I don't have the nerve pain anymore.

dreamdaisy

Thank you for the anatomy lesson, I've stored that bit of knowledge away for the time being (I bet I forget it though, memorising things is no longer one of my strongpoints). I see no reason why it shouldn't work, anything is worth a shot which may reduce pain: on that basis I would like a whole new body please! Whatever choice you make I wish you well. DD

lee67

Hi all,
Well I've had my second operation, Denervation of my thumb 1st cmc joint...i will keep you all updated on the outcome..whether it gets the thumb up or down...
Cheers.

stickywicket

I do hope it helps

dreamdaisy

I'll be honest here - I'd forgotten all about you. :oops: I too hope it proves to be beneficial. DD

Chris01

Hi, even I have not heard about this kind of surgery. So first of all thanks for increasing my knowledge. But as far as my poor understanding goes, denervation alters the ability of the nerve to transmit the pain signals from the joint by ‘switching off’ the nerve. So technically you disrupt the process of sending pain signals around you joints. Thus, as per my common sense, you might get a pain relief to some extent and anything that helps you to feel better is worth trying, isn’t it? Plus you have already taken second opinion which reconfirms the decision.

Good luck. Wish you get benefited from this.

Chris.