Complications of blade plate removal.

The AO fixed-angle blade plate is commonly used to obtain fixation in proximal femoral osteotomies. This device provides stable fixation and obviates the need for postoperative immobilization. There are no reports in the literature on the rate and types of complications associated with blade-plate removal. We report our rate and type of perioperative and early postoperative complications associated with removal of fixed-angle blade plates in a pediatric population. With an overall complication rate of 5.3% and a major complication rate of 2.0%, our study showed that removal of the blade plate was a relatively safe procedure in those patients troubled by prominent/painful hardware or skin breakdown.