@jenniferhunter - I agree that it is a genius mod! Wish I had thought of that while not weight bearing for a year!

I too am at the crossroads and need to make a decision. I suffered an open segmented fracture on my right tibia following a car crash and got a plate and screws on the knee and the ankle. I also had a muscle flap created where I lost a big part of the flesh and muscle on my shin and calf.

There were two main tibia fractures - one has healed and the other is a bit more stubborn. Doc inserted two screws on fracture to incite growth and it is showing some spot welding but has yet to heal. After three years my doctor doesn’t think the second fracture will ever heal but that the plate is holding just fine and that there is no risk of it breaking. I experience a lot of pain on my ankle and knee and would love the plate to be removed so I can have less pain and more mobility. But it is a complicated case - my flap could fail if during the removal of the plateits blood supply is disrupted. If the flap fails, I could lose the leg altogether. It is a small chance though. My surgeon thinks a smaller compression plate and another bone graft could finally heal the broken tibia segment (80% chance).

Surgeon won’t give me a recommendation though. He just says it is my leg and I only know the pain and if it is worth going through all this. I have been going back and forth for months and still can’t make up my mind. My pain is much worse during winter and I am sort of back to active but it took me two and half years to get there. Now I am looking at possibly six months of healing time and pain ahead of me.

This forum is useful to know what others have been through and whether they think getting metalwear out is worth it. Although in my case I would just be switching from a plate to a compression plate. Forgot to ask what the difference was (I get so upset during appointments I forget to ask pertinent questions).