After severely injuring the base of my thumb, I find it difficult to do everyday activities. My doctor suggests I have surgery to rebuild the thumb joints. How successful is a surgery like this?

A method of tightening a loose and painful thumb joint is to weave sections of nearby tendons through and around the bones of the thumb.

In a recent study of 35 patients who had this surgery, 97 percent had either an “excellent” or “good” result. Only one patient required another surgery because of ongoing pain. All patients showed stable thumb joints after surgery. And all but two resumed their jobs and sports.