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Nail Surgery
Nail surgery is used for ingrown toenails which are being consistent and not settling with conserative treatment of cutting the nail. Either a total nail avulsion ( removing the whole nail) or a partial nail avulsion ( taking a piece of nail away from the effected side). Nail surgery is carried out with phenol on 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 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 wont feel any pain just a little bit of pressure. The toe will remain numb for 2-3 hours. Once the toe is numb a torniquet is put 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, this is then cleaned with saline and the torniquet taken off. A dressing is then put on the toe and this Is kept on and dry for 1 week. Due to the toe being numb you wont be able to drive home after the nail surgery.
After care and healing
It is normal to have a little pain in the toe after nail surgery and pain killers can be taken for this. You should rest and try and elevate the foot as much as possible for the first two days after the nail surgery. The dressings will be changed weekly 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.
