pins removed??

[trigger15]

i'm 27years old and 4 years ago i broke both my bones in my left forearm playing rugby. i had them pinned and plated back together. they are still in now and i have been told by the doctors that theres no need to have them removed? but i've got 2 friends who had the same injury that have had theirs removed, but their operations were done at different hospitals to mine. i'm still playing rugby and all seems fine but should they be taken out??

[crete]

might be best to take the advice of your surgeon dont you think?

[raysparx1]

leave well alone,as crete says,my son had plates put in after breaking his back,they said they could take them out but they can be left in,so he left them in.

[lizwizz]

No, there is no need to take them out, unless they cause you a problem. A general anaesthetic carries risk and should be avoided unless absolutley necessary.

[Carakeel]

I'm with crete on this one. My mum had a fracture of her right femur pinned and plated about 6 years ago it has not been removed either. We were told it doesn't need removing. I would think that the surgeon who did your operation is most likely to know best. However, you do have the right to ask for a second opinion.

[trigger15]

thing is, i was told by the 2 people that did have them removed that their doctors told them if they were to suffer a the same injury again they would do more damage to themselves with the plates still in. with me still playing rugby theres a chance that i may do it again. does that sound right??

[Taz70]

I broke both my legs a few years back and I had plates and pins. They also told me that there is no need to remove them unless they cause a problem. I did have a problem with one of them, so I had it removed but the other has been left in for 13 years.

I also carried on doing taekwondo with plates and pins in both legs, so I don't really think you have to worry about re-injury. I think the general opinion seems to be leave them alone if they're not causing a problem. After all, as lizzwizz said, anaesthetic carries a risk and there's also a risk of infection whenever you're operated on.