Dog crying after bandageremoval

Hello, my dog broke her back leg 3 weeks ago and got surgery to realign the bones and secure it with plates and screws. 3 days ago the vet removed the splint and sutures, then recommended minimal exercise for the next 6 weeksish, which seems normal.

They were going to send her home without a bandage and told me to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't lick or naw at her leg. I asked them to give her another bandage and they did, but recommend I remove it after a few days. We removed the bandage tonight (without scissors) and everything seemed fine, but after an hour she started whining and crying loudly.

We upped her pain meds and we'll take her to the emergency vet if she still seems to be in pain, but I can't tell if she's in pain because something has gone wrong, or if this is stress due to the cast removal and her seeing/feeling her leg again.