When I exhale, my old surgery site hurts. I was in a car accident in 2004, broke left radius and ulna. Metal plates and screws were placed on both bones. You have always been able to feel the plates and screws through the skin. Every once in a while, I will wake up and it will be excruciating and swollen. Then, a few advil later (and a few days), it will go away. In the last 10 years, the bone has grown and there is a visual curve to my forearm. I asked the Dr that I go to if there was anything I can do about it and he says that there is nothing I can do about it, the bones have most likely grown around the metal (he looked, didn t take xrays) and I will not be able to find someone to take out the metal, because even though it causes so much pain, taking the metal out would require possible re-brake and the bones wouldn t be strong enough to endure this. Any suggestions?