Medical plates and screws have long been used in surgery to repair broken bones. Surgical repair is recommended for complicated fractures that cannot be realigned by nonsurgical methods. This is especially true of fractures that involve joints because poorly aligned joint surfaces may contribute to the development of arthritis over time. When a patient breaks a bone and decides to undergo surgery to fix the bone, a surgeon may make a surgical cut over the bone in order to set the bone in its proper position. Screws and plates can be attached to the bone either temporarily or permanently to help the broken bone heal in the proper position. A plate may be placed across the break and be held in place by two or more screws in order to set the bone and hold the plate in place. It is usually not necessary to remove an internal fixation device unless it is later causing problems for the recipient.