Is Hardware Removal Recommended after Ankle Fracture Repair?

Table 2

Pain scores before and after hardware removal from 78 patients with fractures of the ankle or distal tibia ( feet).

Characteristic	Pain score		value
	Preoperative	Postoperative
Location			.500^†
Ankle ()	3.5 ± 1.6	1.3 ± 1.0	<.001
Distal tibia ()	3.4 ± 1.6	1.2 ± 1.2	<.001
Hardware type			.614^†
Plate and screws ()	3.4 ± 1.6	1.3 ± 1.2	<.001
Screws only ()	3.2 ± 1.7	1.1 ± 1.0	<.001
Severity of pain
VAS ≤ 3 ()	2.2 ± 1.0	0.8 ± 0.8	<.001
Overall ()	3.4 ± 1.6	1.3 ± 1.2	<.001

Mean ± SD.
^†Difference of postoperative pain VAS between two groups.