Removing hardware after surgery?

[tennisplayer23]

Hello first time poster, I had jaw surgery on Dec 6th at Stanford hospital by Dr. Stanley Liu who's an ENT and maxillofacial surgeon. I had an underbite which was corrected by moving only the top jaw forward, and everything went as planned. Now I had a post-op appt last Wednesday and the Dr. said I am going to get my plates and screws removed on January 24 even though he said everything is perfectly healing. Everywhere I've looked people say they keep their hardware forever unless its causing problems which in my case they're not. Is it normal to get the hardware removed? Chances of a relapse if I do?

Thanks in advance!

[PloskoPlus]

Hello first time poster, I had jaw surgery on Dec 6th at Stanford hospital by Dr. Stanley Liu who's an ENT and maxillofacial surgeon. I had an underbite which was corrected by moving only the top jaw forward, and everything went as planned. Now I had a post-op appt last Wednesday and the Dr. said I am going to get my plates and screws removed on January 24 even though he said everything is perfectly healing. Everywhere I've looked people say they keep their hardware forever unless its causing problems which in my case they're not. Is it normal to get the hardware removed? Chances of a relapse if I do?

Thanks in advance!

In Europe it's common to remove them 12 months after.  I heard the only reason they do is to give young surgeons some practice.  AFAIK, it takes 4 months for the bones to truly fuse.  Personally I think it's a bad idea.  Maybe he thinks the plate is sitting over your nerve (it's rare, but it can happen).

[tennisplayer23]

I was just thinking, what if I misunderstood what the Dr. meant? Cause now that I think about it I did have a gap between the canine and first molar that he closed surgically, and now there is a metal wire there (not the braces) near the gum line connecting the two teeth. Could this be what he's removing? Idk exactly what its called.