Hardware poking out at my ankle

I'll try to be short:
I had a dramatic injury which cause what every medical professional has said WOW that's a bad break.  Not comforting by the way.  I had repair surgery 3 days after my ER visit.  I was told absolutely no weight on my left leg for 3 months. Which i have followed not wanting to cause more down time. The put an 11 inch plate with 8 or 10 screws and then two larger ones that are holding the two bones in the leg almost as an internal splint.  I have a visit next week which if the doc should let me do some weight on it.  Here are a few questions I have:
Should my leg still turn purple if hung down in a chair?
I have a spot on my leg under the scar that has something hard push on my skin causing a painful  spot, what could that be and how would it get fixed? It is really painful!
Any help is much appreciated.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

It is not normal for the leg to turn purple when it is hung down early or late in the course of recovery. This suggests that there is something that is blocking venous drainage from the limb when it is placed in the particular position and may need evaluation for appropriate management. The hard spot could be a displaced bone, hardware or hypertrophied scar, which if symptomatic may need adjustment. It would be best to get these evaluated by your treating doctor for appropriate management.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!