Thumb and thumb Surgery

Please please help me find what kind of surgery would be best for my thumbs. I am in my 60's and for the last 2 years have been in severe pain that now is radiating across my wrist. This causes my to drop things, and it is getting harder and harder to get dressed or comb my hair. Let alone cook or clean the house. I am a professional Baker and I am unable to bake. There are no specialists where I live and the only recommendation made by a Dr. was to have both thumb joints fused and loose 40-50 % of the use of my thumbs. Please if anyone out there can help educate me to my options I would be so thankful.

Thank you Kitt, that was most helpful. I was hoping for a less invasive procedure. One that doesn't take quite the time to recover and the painful after surgery time that I keep reading about on the Forum. If you or anyone has heard of any other ideas, please let me know.
I have read the Mayo Clinic reports, and then went to the Brown Hand Centers report, they seem to specialize just in hands, but not just Carpal Tunnel like some hand centers do. They have a slightly different procedure that is less invasive. Also, I have a friend that is looking at having the Stem Cell injections. Do you know anything about these, other then they are not governed by the FDA?
All the information I can get will be a help to me in making a decision.
Again-
Mahalo and Aloha,
Noelani