Thanks for that info. I'm a permanent resident of Australia now, with access to the public (and private) medical care down here. My injury and procedure happened in the US though, and I've moved around quite a bit since then, and haven't really seen anyone about my ankle since my last post-op visit 4+ years ago. I enquired about speaking to a syndesmotic specialist down here but it still seemed to be an expensive visit to be told "yeah nah everyone just keeps the plate in nowadays mate," which is what I was expecting...so I'm always very curious when someone has had the implant removed. Thanks again.