I had the surgery 20 years ago and had no problem until lately. I am getting old, but I do drop things if I am not paying attention. This could also be due to arthritis. I have had to have surgery on both of my thumbs due to bone lost. when I was unable to write anything I knew it was time. I had been putting it off for years. wearing braces did help up to a point but eventually they did not even work. :)