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Ingrown Nail Treatment
Lots of ingrown nails will heal very well after some careful conservative cutting and expert shaping of the nail plate. This can often be done in a single treatment session and nail surgery is not always needed. If, as is common, there is an infection present, then your podiatrist can give you antibiotics to help resolve this. You should follow the instructions and complete the course as given.
Nail surgery
Nail surgery is used for ingrown toenails which are consistently recurring and not settling with conservative treatment. Either a total nail avulsion (removing the whole nail) or a partial nail avulsion (taking a piece of nail away from the affected side). Nail surgery is carried out with phenol applied to the nail bed to prevent the nail from growing back. This has a 95% success rate. If there is regrowth of the nail this is often a little corner at the bottom of the nail and doesn’t cause any issues.
What’s involved with nail surgery
The nail surgery is done under local anaesthetic, which involves an injection at both sides of the toe. After this you won’t feel any pain, just a little bit of pressure. The toe will remain numb for 2-3 hours. Once the toe is numb, a tourniquet is placed round the toe to briefly stop the blood supply. The nail will then be taken off and the phenol applied to prevent the nail from growing back. The toe is then cleaned with saline and the torniquet taken off. A dressing will be applied and this should be kept on and dry for 1 week. Due to the toe being numb, you won’t be able to drive home after the nail surgery, so be sure to arrange alternative transport.
After care and healing
Most people are pain-free after their surgery. If you do have a little pain then analgesics can be taken for this. You should rest and elevate the foot above your waist as much as possible for the first two days after the nail surgery. The dressings will be changed weekly in the clinic and should be kept on and dry in between appointments. It normally takes around 8 weeks for complete healing of the wound from the nail surgery. The timescale differs a little from person to person.
