Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in Lagos
Removal of plates, screws and nails in Lagos
A written all-in price after a consultation from ₦50,000 in Lagos, so you know the total before anything is booked.
How the price is set
Consultation, then a written price
From ₦50,000
Orthopaedic consultation
- The surgeon, the assistant and the anaesthetist
- Theatre time, with X-ray imaging during the operation where needed
- Your stay, often a day case
- Dressing changes and reviews with the surgeon
Your written price covers the lines above, agreed before you pay.
Removal of Metal Implants at Mezo Health in Lagos, Nigeria is priced in a written quote after a consultation from ₦50,000, because the right operation and its cost depend on what the surgeon finds. The quote covers dressing changes and reviews with the surgeon. Prices last checked 3 November 2026.
Plates, screws and nails used to fix a broken bone are designed to stay in for life, and most people never need them out. They are removed when they cause pain or rub under the skin, when they are infected, when they have broken or loosened, or sometimes in young adults after the bone has fully healed. The bone must be healed first, and removal is not always simpler than putting them in. Your price is a written quote after the surgeon has seen you and your X-rays.
Also called: Removal of plates and screws, Implant removal, Removal of a nail from a bone, Hardware removal, Removal of K-wires
Medically reviewed by Dr Debo Odulana
How the price is set
Written quote after consultation
Orthopaedic consultation: from ₦50,000
Your price is a written quote after the consultation and your X-rays, because the bone, the implant and any infection change the operation. It does not move without your written agreement.
What your written quote covers
- The surgeon, the assistant and the anaesthetist
- Theatre time, with X-ray imaging during the operation where needed
- Your stay, often a day case
- Dressing changes and reviews with the surgeon
Not in the quote
- The first consultation and the X-rays
- Antibiotics after discharge, if infection was found
- A new fixation if the bone has not healed, which is quoted separately
What decides your quote
- A broken screw or nail that is hard to remove
- Infection needing cleaning of the bone and longer antibiotics
- Implants in more than one bone
If an HMO is paying, the operation needs prior authorisation before admission. Bring your HMO number to the first consultation and the desk will start it. If the plan declines, you are told the cash price before anything is booked.
How we pick your surgeon
Every Mezo surgeon is MDCN verified and approved for this operation before they take a case. You meet them before you pay.
Is it right for you
Who this is for
A good fit
- A plate or screw that is painful or rubs under the skin after the bone has healed
- An infected implant, with a discharging wound or a swollen, hot limb
- A broken or loose screw, plate or nail
- Some young adults and sports players, after full healing, on the surgeon's advice
When it is not the right answer
- A bone that has not fully healed, because removing the support can let it break again
- Implants that cause no symptoms, which are usually best left in
- Anyone not yet fit for an anaesthetic, until that is improved
What happens
The pathway, step by step
- 1
Consultation with the surgeon₦50,000
Why you want the implant out, an examination, and a look at the original operation note if you have it.
- 2
X-rays
These confirm the bone has healed and show the implant and any loosening.
- 3
A written price
The operation and the stay, in writing, before you agree a date.
- 4
The operation
Usually through the old scar, under anaesthetic.
- 5
Follow-up₦25,000
Wound check, and advice on how long to protect the bone afterwards.
Afterwards
Recovery, realistically
First two weeks
Wound care and stitches out. Gentle use of the limb.
Weeks 2 to 6
Normal daily activity returns. The bone is weaker where the screws were for a few weeks.
Weeks 6 to 12
Contact sport and heavy lifting usually return after this, on the surgeon's advice.
Risks you should be told about
- Infection
- The bone breaking again through the screw holes in the first weeks
- Nerve injury near the implant
- A broken screw that cannot be removed and is left in place
- Pain that does not improve after removal
Every operation carries risk. A surgeon who lists none is not being straight with you. Yours will go through these with you before you consent.
Questions people ask
Do plates and screws have to come out?
No. Most are left in for life without problems. They come out if they hurt, are infected, have broken or loosened, or on a surgeon's advice for some younger patients.
How long after a fracture can the metal come out?
Only once the bone has fully healed, usually at least a year after the fracture and often longer for the thigh bone. X-rays confirm it.
My wound has been discharging since my fracture operation. What should I do?
See an orthopaedic surgeon promptly. A wound that keeps discharging over an implant can mean infection of the bone, which needs proper treatment and often removal of the implant once the bone allows.
Medically reviewed by Dr Debo Odulana, Founder and Chief Executive, Mezo. Last reviewed . This page is general information, not a diagnosis. Care is decided with you after an examination.
Keep reading
More on Mezo
Related on Mezo
Other treatments
Related health guides
Prices shown are in naira and were last checked on 3 November 2026. A “from” price is the all-in starting price for the standard case. Every operation is confirmed in a written quote after your consultation, because the right operation for you, and its cost, depend on what the surgeon finds.