An ingrowing toenail is very painful.The side or a part of the nail has penetrated the skin (sulci) and the body then treats this as a foreign body with the inflammatory response, redness, swelling and pain. Often times the toe is also infected. Antibiotics can help but they only really treat the symptoms of the ingrowing toenail and not the cause which nail surgery addresses.
Nail surgery is routinely performed at The Podiatry and Laser Clinic. It is a specialist procedure that requires a local anaesthetic and provides a permanent solution to a painful condition. All of our podiatrists are trained and experienced in nail surgery procedures.
Nail surgery with matrix phenolisation carries around a 94% success rate.
The surgical wound is small but deep and healing usually occurs within 4-6 weeks.
The function of the nail is to protect the end of the digit. In our hands nails help with dexterity and in the feet how much worse would dropping things on the foot be without a toenail to protect the bone underneath!
Some people have naturally wide nail plates which can start to dig in at the sides and cause problems. Sometimes a nail can be traumatised and become deformed which can lead to problems.
Nail surgery often requires just a small part of the nail to be removed and the aesthetics of the nail post operatively are extremely good.