To replace or not.

[P2Vaircrewman]

I am coming to a point where the knuckle joint of my right index finger is constantly painful. For the last 3 years I have been getting injections in it about once a year. So far this year I have had two. Usually pain relief lasted 7 to 8 months, now its down to 3 to 4 months. Although it helps I don't want to take ibuprofen because of the kidney damage issues, I am in stage 2 kidney disease now.
Doc said joint implant or fusion is the next step.
Recovery for both is at least 3 months, which would mean pretty much no weightlifting with the right hand/arm. Presently I use lifting straps for dead lifts and shrugs to avoid strain on the fingers.
Also I can't get a good answer on the strength and durability of the joint implant. I really don't want to go the fusion route.
Has anyone here had a similar issue.

[zgrins1]

Joint replacement is almost always a better choice than a fusion given that a procedure is done right and without any other complications. Ask your doctor about how long most people get out of it before a revision is needed. Fusion is a very debilitating procedure with a lot of functionality lost due to structural changes. With a replacement you will hopefully be able to regain most of the functionality of your hand with some restrictions. When I get home I will hopefully be able to find information from my continuing education class from a year ago. It was talking about other options that most doctors do not usually discuss or even offer to patients, but some found them to be very helpful and a lot less invasive.

[P2Vaircrewman]

Thanks.