@anemarie Have you talked to your doctor about your concerns of infection? This would be their concern too, and they could prescribe antibiotics to take before your surgery to lower that risk. Your fracture is similar to mine that involved both tibia and fibula, but mine didn't extend up quite as far. My fibula had a clean snap, so the surgeon added only one screw inside it, and I had 2 plates on the tibia like yours, but they were about half as long as the big one. The inside "Ankle Knob" that is part of the Tibia was sheared off, and the front of the tibia had cracks that looked like puzzle pieces but not fractured all the way through. The plate in front was under the tendons on the front of shin, and when that plate was removed, I felt like the tendons moved better because they were not sliding over a plate anymore.

The day I broke my ankle, I was riding a horse and fell when the horse bolted. The day before that, I found a tick on me and wasn't sure if it had started to bite, so I went to the doctor and was put on antibiotics, so that was actually a good thing when I broke my ankle because being around a barnyard and fracturing your leg with a compound open fracture, raises the risk of infection a lot. I had no issues with it at all.

I had my hardware removed because my body was reacting to the metal inside and it caused me pain, and also massive hives on my body unless I stayed on antihistamines all the time. I felt like someone was always kicking me in the shin, and I was getting pigmentation starting to develop over the plates on my skin. Having all the hardware removed made a big difference and my health improved, even my breathing. I have asthma, and was getting lots of phlegm all the time. It wasn't just the hardware on my ankle, it was dental work with metals causing it, and that had been removed and I was breathing better until I broke my ankle, and the breathing problems returned when I got metal back in my body. I have no metal now and it makes a big difference for me.

What I think about is could you also have a problem with metals, and could you still have pain if only some of the hardware screws are removed? Do you think that would be a good conversation to have with your surgeon, and ask if all the hardware should be removed or just part of it? You have had this so many years, and may not need any of it anymore. I know I feel so much better with all the hardware removed from my leg. I didn't have trouble walking after my hardware was removed. I had some pain, and there is a recovery after surgery, but much easier than recovering from a fracture.