Had an arthroplasty done on my lefthand thumb almost 7 years ago and it's been a great sucess. Prior to the procedure I had all but given up playing my instruments after the 3rd cortisone shot stopped working. I was back playing shortly after the operation and within a
about 6 months, with a couple of months of therapy (most of which you can do on your own but I think you need a good physcical therapist to get you started down the right path) things were almost back to normal. Nowadays I can play as long as I like and I'm probably playing (guitar and mandolin) better than ever. I gotta say though I've lost some clamping power in my lefthand and big barre chords are difficult but there are ways around that. Good luck, Bobert.