Hardware removal after tibial plateau fracture (tpf)

Just had hardware removed a year after tibial plateau fracture. Feels so much better with hardware out. Can walk same day after surgery. So happy I had it removed.

i just found this group by chance, i was googling "if i can have the hardware removed". reading all these posts i am now determined to find another surgeon who will listen to my cripling pain he keeps telling me its "arthritis" my surgery was a yr ago may 20th, i had the option of a natural recovery or surgery with a plate a 6 screws, nwb for 7 weeks, i am still trying to walk normal but always in some kind of pain or discomfort. the big bump on the side of my knee hurts, i can literally feel the plate when i sleep and move my leg, i have complained to my surgeon so many times, had an Sri and he said "its arthritis", funny i never had or felt this arthritis before, not a day goes by where i dont have some kind of pain or discomfort. when i asked him if the hw can come out he said there is too much involved, opening up the scar, disecting everything around it... when i read these couple posts, their doctors are all for removing the hardware, im now seriously thinking about finding another orthopedic surgeon and getting their opinions. i cry and am "jealous" of those who have it remove and they say their pain is gone.

I felt the bump on the side of my knee which caused discomfort. Better with plate removed.

Hi, I know this is an old post but i think seeing this has reinforced my thinking that i have a screw or 2 that have gone through my bone from my Tibial Plateau surgery in January. I'm having pain and have mentioned to the physio which he said it could be pes anserine bursitis as i have some inflammation there but it also could be pushing on my MCL too. The same area is where i had a 10cm blood clot post surgery when they finally took me serious about the pain as it was on the opposite side of my knee away from the surgery incision. I'm wondering if it was a combination of it all but was just ridden off as the blood clot as that's the first thing they seen as this is resolved now but the pain is still there and now the inflammation you can see slightly. I hope you are all going well on your journey and have things better sorted with less suffering 🙂

I’m considering getting my hardware out after several years. I have 14 screws in a plate. I’m just wondering if you have an orthopedic surgeon you recommend for the hardware removal?

I just had hardware removed. I had a screw from an SI Joint fusion that was causing me pain sitting over my SI joint. I also had a screw head removed from the second screw. They couldn’t move that screw because it was embedded into my bone already. And they also found a floating rod from my L4 disc fusion I had a year ago. Dr. Jackman from Brain and Spine institute in Stillwater did it. He did a good job. Going into surgery he didn’t know about the floating rod. He came across that during surgery.

Thank you. I hope you are getting some relief as well. Yes removing hardware did help with pain. Unfortunately for me I had two different types of pain. The one kind which the hardware caused, the other pain in my right SI joint where I’ve had 12 failed Sacrolliac fusions. I’ve also had my L4 & L5 disc fused. Last year I also had my right SI joint fused for the last time. Good news is it finally fused. The bad news is I’m in the worst pain of my life. It’s residual pain from all the surgeries. There is no pain med that will give me relief. I’ve heard the pain stimulator won’t work with my pain. I’ve run out of options. My pain level is on a torture level. Anyways best of luck to you and I hope they can figure things out for you.

Hi my name is Brian and I broke my knee in Oct 2010 and the last 3 yeArs I've been walking in excruciating pain I had my hardware removed november 13 2023 and it was best decision I ever made my pain level is 0 it's GONE only problem was I I went to Cleveland clinic she was my fourth orthopedic Dr I went to the first 3 said there was nothing g I could do glad I kept pushing for an answer so my advise to u is get the screws and plate out asap I had 13 screws and one plate best decision ever to have it removed

@winder01 Hello and welcome to Connect. I'm glad to hear that you advocated for yourself until you found a doctor who would remove your surgical hardware. I know for some patients, myself included, the metals in surgical plates can cause pain and immune reactions. I had 2 plates on my tibia and a screw inside my fibula from a bad ankle fracture in 2020. 6 months after the initial surgery, I was getting hives all over, but I had to keep the hardware at least a year before it could be removed. I had pain too; all the time throbbing like I was getting kicked in the shins and some skin discoloration. Walking caused a bit of pain with every step. Removing the hardware was also a good choice for me. I don't have pain or hives anymore for the most part, but I do have some pain when the ligaments get stressed by walking on uneven ground. It's like living with a sprain when it kicks up.

I know this is an old post, but.. I had a level 6 bicondular tibial plateau fracture February of 2023. 4 plates and 20 screws. I am thinking of getting my hardware removed due to constant pain. Reading through the comments; I decided I'm going forward with the removal. I need my life back and I hope to get the relief you've all experienced from hardware removal. Thank you all for sharing.