Is Hardware Removal Recommended after Ankle Fracture Repair?

Table 1

Characteristics of patients with fractures of the ankle or distal tibia repaired with open reduction and internal fixation in a study of routine hardware removal ( feet with 78 patients).

Demographic	Count
Age (years)	41.8 ± 15.5
Sex
Male	47 (58.8%)
Female	33 (41.3%)
Injury side
Right	31 (38.8%)
Left	49 (61.3%)
Hardware
Plate and screws	67 (83.8%)
Screws only	13 (16.3%)
Location
Ankle	56 (70.0%)
Distal tibia	24 (30.0%)
Time interval between two surgeries (months)^†	23.6 (range 7 to 240)

Mean ± SD.
^†Mean (range).