I've had to plates and 20 pins in my right tib/fib for 9 years and A very large amount of scar tissue. A small reoccurring hole appeared in scar tissue a year ago, and has enabled an infection in lower right leg I have been trying to fight on and off with antibiotics for almost a year. My orthopedic surgeon says they the antibiotics cannot completely kill the infection because of all the titanium in the affected area, and wants remove it. Is this accurate, and how long would the recovery time be with that amount of pins being removed. i.e.....how long before i could return to work?