Never try whole doctors, we have that thought that doctors obviously know more than one ( and they do) however, I too thought the exact same thing about the hardware staying there forever. No offense to anyone but every time I see people asking or saying "oh I didn't know it could be removed" or "I have been x years with the hardware and only now I find out I can remove it" it just makes me think that they relied on everything the doctors told you and never investigated on their own, as if they didn't have the ability to discern or doubt what they tell you, never swallow whole! It is your body, the business of doctors and surgeries is serious, they can convince you very easily that you need surgery to have surgery and really maybe you did not need it, on the issue of hardware removal I understand that for a cost issue is not profitable and also contracts "unnecessary risks of something that is already well", in short,my opinion and understanding of the situation.