Surgeons at University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora have quietly notched a regional first, rolling out a Swiss-designed total thumb-base joint replacement this winter and performing the first procedures in the western United States on Feb. 16. Instead of leaving surgery in a bulky six-week cast, patients walk out with a soft ace bandage, and surgeons report faster recoveries and less pain than with the older trapeziectomy operation.
According to UCHealth, a hand surgery team led by Drs. Fraser Leversedge and Louis Catalano trained in France, Belgium and Switzerland before implanting the TOUCH® CMC 1 prosthesis at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. UCHealth says roughly 50 patients who have exhausted nonsurgical options are already lined up for the surgery. The system plans to train surgeons at other UCHealth facilities across Colorado so more people can access the operation.
How the Implant Works
The device, marketed as the TOUCH® CMC 1 Prosthesis, is a cementless, dual-mobility ball-and-socket implant intended to sit in both the trapezium and the first metacarpal, preserving bone and native thumb mechanics. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued premarket approval for the implant on July 10, 2025 after reviewing overseas clinical data, according to the FDA Summary of Safety and Effectiveness, PMA P240020.
European Track Record and Patient Experience
UCHealth notes that the TOUCH implant has been commercially available in Europe since 2018 and reports that more than 150,000 European patients have received it with generally favorable results. Dr. Louis Catalano has dubbed the device “a hip replacement for a squirrel,” and UCHealth adds that surgeons in Europe often do not need to prescribe opioid pain medicines after the operation, with many patients heading home in an ace bandage instead of a long splint or cast.
U.S. Rollout So Far
KeriMedical reports that the first U.S. implantation was performed Sept. 17, 2025 by Dr. Jonathan Tueting at Rush Orthopaedics in Aurora, Illinois, and that several other American centers from Florida to Arizona have started offering the procedure. The maker and its U.S. distributor are organizing surgeon training and a limited rollout while clinical teams collect outcomes data.
What Patients Should Know
The FDA reviewers described the device’s early results as promising but required post-approval studies to track long-term durability and performance, according to the agency’s review document. In other words, real-world U.S. data will keep building as more centers adopt the implant. Patients are advised to discuss candidacy, expected recovery and longer-term durability with their hand surgeon before deciding on surgery…