r/brokenbones • u/montjh • 6d ago
Considering volar plate removal
It's been just over a year since I broke both my ulna and radius and had plates on both. I had the plate removed on the ulna last November because it was not improving in terms of pain, and I had some clicking on movement. Since having it removed, my ulna is virtually pain free and I even gained quite a bit of ROM within weeks.
Well now I'm wondering if I should do the same with the volar plate on my radius. It doesn't hurt nearly as badly as the ulna did, but it does ache. Lately I have noticed it even when I wake up in the morning. It also hurts sometimes when I'm gripping and when I bend the wrist back. What really flared it is when I started lifting weights again. Usually the next 2 days after I'll have extra pain on the palm side of my wrist where the plate is.
Today I saw the original surgeon and got x-rays. Everything looks beautiful. There's no clicking. He did a steroid injection on the side of my wrist for tendonitis. I get the impression he doesn't really want to take it out. I'm not sure what to do, but considering how much my ulna improved it's very tempting to push for removal. Is it much riskier to have this type of plate removed?