Hardware Removal After Surgery - Anybody Done This?

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Originally Posted by lodopo

My verdict is always get foreign parts removed if things have healed. They will just cause problems years later. Get that stuff out! Demand it unless seriously warned otherwise!

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Humbly disagree with this. While some pain is definitely hardware related (pressure from boots over an ankle plate, etc), don't forget that a fracture itself, especially if into a joint, can have long term consequences. Case in point, how many people on this forum have had bad ankle sprains and found that, while functional, their ankle was never quite the same? Hardware removal is always a conversation to be had with your surgeon about hopes, expectations, and risks. For some it's worth it, for others not so much. Ultimately, the majority of patients have their hardware left in place and do fine. Not to mention, it gives the TSA screeners at the airport something to admire.

^^^ Fair point. The bone callous on my lower shin can still be a bit tender after a day of skiing pretty hard in less than ideal conditions. Far far worse before I got it out though (I couldn't ski from the pain). It also took a season or two post-fracture for the callous to develop enough that the nail was rubbing (we assume from the marks on it when it came out and the type of pain) and causing that much pain, so there's that. I was also quite concerned that with time it would be harder to pull. That was me. Nail didn't set off the detectors though. :D