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A member asked:
Do metal plate and screws in ankle cause the bone to get crushed (or cause bigger injuries) if the same ankle gets re-fractured in the future?
2 doctors weighed in across 2 answers
Do not cause crush: While screws and plates do not cause a crush injury in the same area, they certainly do weaken the bone where they are. The plate takes some of the load off the bone. Stress strengthens bone, so if we remove stress we weaken the bone. Generally screws and plates are not removed after a fracture heals unless they cause pain, screws are backing out, or there is a non-healing wound.
Answered 4/5/2013
5.2k views
Not really: Most often if an injury occurs to an area that has been fixed it usually isn't an issue unless the previous hardware was damaged. Get x-ray to find out.
Answered 11/1/2015
5.2k views
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