Nail Surgery

Painful ingrown toenails, no longer have to keep you from looking and feeling your best.

Ingrown nails (medically referred as onychocryptosis), is a universal issue. An ingrown nail is typically caused when the corner of the nail plate grows into the skin. This allows a portal of entry for bacteria into the area often causing painful infections (look out for signs of infection: red, hot, swollen, pain, discharge). Pain often begins as mild, progressively becoming more severe, to a point that daily tasks, like wearing enclosed footwear and physical exercise, can become painful and limiting.

Causes

There are numerous factors that may cause ingrown nails:

– Nails that are: too thick, too wide, or abnormal nail shapes (high curvature)

– Improper nail care, such as incorrect cutting technique (talk to us about our wonderful pedicure treatments to avoid this occurrence!)

– Poor hygiene – Trauma (dropping something on your toe, walking into the bed post for example)

– Sports related (especially those that require kicking i.e football, rugby, kickboxing, dancing)

– Ill-fitting footwear, causes high external pressure

– Hereditary

These risk factors can each affect the growth of the toenail. It is critical that you seek professional advice if you have an ingrown toenail or any other foot-related pain, or simply if you feel concerned. Lack of or mistreatment will almost always cause further pain and damage.

We understand how problematic nail concerns can be, and our Rosewell Clinics Podiatrists will assess the issue and identify the best treatment plan that will work for you and your lifestyle. If the issue is minor, a conservative nail treatment will likely suffice.

The most effective treatment option, in most cases, is a minimally invasive ingrown toe nail surgery, which has a 98% success rate as a permanent solution to your ingrown toe nails.

The most common surgical procedure performed by our expert Podiatrists is a Partial Nail Avulsion (PNA), involving a local anaesthetic injection. Once the section of the offending nail is removed, a chemical called phenol is applied to prevent the regrowth of that section of nail in future. Your podiatrist will then dress the site and provide after care education. Recovery time is approximately 2-5 weeks, during which we ensure a proper recovery with numerous dressing changes and a final checkup.

In more severe cases, if the nail is deformed and causing pain on both sides of the toe, a Total Nail Avulsion (TNA – removal of the entire toe nail) may be necessary to achieve the best therapeutic outcome.