Big toe cushioning(?) of joints

mally

I met my foot surgeon today. I fully expected him to recommend Fusion surgery for my big toe OA. Instead he went through 4 options but recommended putting "cushions" in my joints to stop the bones rubbing together. He said that this would preserve a lot of movement in the joints, was more likely to be successful than fusion and had a quicker recovery time. He also said that both feet could be done at once but he didn't recommend it. He did say that the "cushions" do have a shelf life of about 5 years and that when their time was up fusion would be the answer. He would also fuse the joints if the cushions did not work

He wanted an answer there and then so I agreed to his recommendations. At no point did he mention the words joint replacement but now I am starting to worry that this is what this is. From what I have read, joint replacement is not really suitable for people who are active (and I am) and there have been problems with silicone replacements.

I have so many questions now. Has anyone any experience of these?