For 30 years, Lee Blackwell worked as a Louisiana law enforcement officer, relying on his hands every day of the job. But arthritis in the joint near his wrist eventually made even the simplest tasks unbearable: squeezing a bottle, fastening a shirt button, or just getting through the night without pain jolting him awake.
Blackwell, 57, told WWL-TV that his arthritis pain in New Orleans disrupted his sleep and daily life long before he found relief. He said he was embarrassed that he could no longer open a jar and had to ask his wife for help, and that injections he received did nothing to ease the pain, according to the station's report.
Blackwell's hand surgeon, Dr. Carol Meyer, a board-certified orthopedic hand surgeon at Ochsner Health, treats patients ranging from oil-field workers and athletes to law enforcement officers and piano players, the station reports. She told WWL-TV that thumb pain is one of the most common conditions she treats, behind only carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger fingers.
A New Option Beyond the Standard Surgery
Rather than move forward right away, Dr. Meyer asked Blackwell to delay surgery until a new joint implant was expected to win FDA approval in 2026, per the station's account. That implant, often described as resembling a tiny hip replacement, had already been used in Europe for a decade by the time Blackwell considered it.
The device in question appears to be the TOUCH CMC 1 prosthesis, which Ochsner Health says Dr. Meyer offers through a technique called Touch thumb total joint arthroplasty — an approach designed to preserve the trapezium bone while restoring thumb strength, range of motion and function. According to Tampa General Hospital, the implant uses a dual-mobility ball-and-socket design meant to preserve thumb length, improve stability and restore movement in patients with moderate to severe thumb arthritis who have not found relief through nonsurgical treatment.
Traditional thumb surgery works differently. It removes part of the bone, leaving a space that can leave patients with a shortened thumb and an incomplete return of grip strength and function, per the station's report. Men typically regain about 50 pounds of grip strength after the standard surgery, while women typically regain about 30 pounds, WWL-TV reports.
Blackwell's Numbers Tell the Story
Blackwell's grip strength measured 119 pounds following his surgery, far surpassing those typical post-surgical benchmarks, according to the station's account. Under fluoroscopic assessment, he showed normal bone and joint movement and experienced no pain, the outlet reports. Occupational therapists were reportedly stunned by how quickly he bounced back.
The surgery itself took about an hour and a half, WWL-TV reports. Blackwell said the procedure was easy and that he was moving his thumb again just two weeks later. He described the overall experience as a great one, with no regrets, according to the station.
Not every part of Blackwell's path was smooth. His insurance company initially denied coverage for the surgery before reversing its decision and approving it, the station reports. Dr. Meyer noted that insurance companies are beginning to approve thumb joint replacement surgery more broadly, a shift that could open the door for more patients facing the same fight Blackwell did.
Part of a Small but Growing Group of Patients
Blackwell is one of about two dozen of Dr. Meyer's patients who have received the procedure, according to WWL-TV, and the station reports that Dr. Meyer performed the first thumb joint replacement surgery of its kind in Louisiana. Dr. Meyer said patients should not have to live in pain or give up the activities they love because of thumb pain, and that the technique is one she says is preferred in Europe.
European hand surgeons have in fact been performing this type of thumb-arthritis surgery since 2018, and more than 150,000 European patients had received the implant by the time UCHealth Today reported on the technique. Separately, WOSU Public Media reported that more than 40,000 of the implants have been placed in Europe over more than a decade, and that Ohio State Wexner Medical Center surgeon Ryan Schmucker is among a small group of U.S. doctors trained to perform the procedure.
Other hospitals around the country have reported similar milestones this year. UCHealth said its surgeons performed the first version of the new thumb surgery in the western United States, describing the standard surgery as one that may leave patients with diminished pinch strength and a slightly shorter thumb, compared with less pain for a shorter period and likely better eventual hand function with the newer implant. Tampa General Hospital and the Florida Orthopaedic Institute reported Florida's first TOUCH CMC prosthesis surgery in February, noting the device had been used in 20 facilities nationwide during its limited market release at that point.
What the Research Says About Recovery
Early clinical evidence on joint replacement for thumb arthritis has been largely favorable, though not without caveats. A systematic review found that joint replacement produced superior short-term functional outcomes and faster recovery, particularly in restoring strength, but also came with implant-specific complications, according to research published on PubMed. A separate meta-analysis found level II evidence that joint replacement led to faster recovery than the traditional trapeziectomy procedure during the first three months after surgery, per PubMed Central.
Another systematic review published on PubMed Central noted that implant survival was estimated at around 90% at 10 years, while cautioning that the risk of reoperation might be higher for total joint arthroplasty than for other approaches. Duke Health has reported that patients can achieve painless motion within two to four weeks of the newer procedure, compared with the roughly three months previously required for recovery from older thumb CMC surgeries, according to Duke Health.
For Blackwell, three decades of pushing through pain on the job have given way to a renewed grip and, by his own account, no regrets about the choice he made.
