I broke my fibula skiing about 4 years ago. The docs put in a titanium plate and 9 screws. The pain of breaking the bone was nothing compared to the pain after surgery - the pain after the surgery was absolutely excruciating!
I can feel the plate through the skin if I run my hand along my skin, but there's absolutely no discomfort wearing ski boots.
You should be aware of the possibility of developing a blood clot in the ankle from the surgery. It is extremely important to keep your leg elevated and flex the ankle to keep blood from pooling in the lower leg. My docs didn't stress the increased risk and I developed a blood clot that eventually spread from my ankle to my mid-thigh. It took a lot of complaining until they finally checked my leg (after three months). (Thinking back, the pain I was experiencing after the surgery was probably from the blood clot.)
If a clot in the leg breaks loose, it will travel to the lungs first and could cause death within the hour. (pulmonary embolism).
The chances of developing a blood clot is fairly low for someone who is young and healthy, but it is still something to be aware of as there is an increased risk with any orthopedic surgery involving the legs or hips. The typical treatment for a blood clot is to be put on blood thinners and wear compression socks until the body has time to dissolve the clot.
orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00219
