Nail Surgery

Ingrown toe nails can be very painful and need to be treated as soon as possible. This will avoid infections or further complications to the surrounding tissue such as hypergranulation (overgrown traumatised skin). There are many different causes for ingrown nails, but the most common causes are picking at the nail, cutting the nail incorrectly and trauma to the toe. Your health practitioner will assess the nail and determine if it can be managed conservatively to allow the offending part of the nail to grow out.

Sometimes conservative care isn’t enough, especially if there is repeated infections or hypergranulation. Infections will not clear with antibiotics if the offending part of the nail is not removed from the skin. Footwise Podiatry provides excellence in nail care to those suffering with ingrown toe nails. Long hospital waiting lists for nail surgery makes choosing Footwise Podiatry the most convenient way to alleviate your pain in a timely manner.

What Choices Do I Have for Ingrown Toenail Treatment?

Once off ingrown nail: If the nail has become ingrown due to trauma, sometimes just removing the affected area of nail, to allow the skin to heal can be helpful. The nail will grow back over time and the issue should have corrected itself by then. If it continues to be an issue but the edge of the nail can be seen, then you can get a BS Spange Nail Brace applied that lifts the nail away from the sides and straightens out the nail over time.

Recurring ingrown nail: If the nail root is damaged it can cause the nail to grow in the wrong direction and cause the nail to continuously grow into the surrounding skin. Nail surgery is only preformed if other treatments have failed to work in the past.

Surgery Options:

Partial Nail Avulsion (PNA): This is where a small area of nail is removed from the offending area. This option can be chosen with or without acid. A phenol acid can be applied to the nail root and this stops the nail from growing back and eliminate a recurrence of the problem.
Total Nail Avulsion (TNA): This is where the infection or hypergranulation tissue is so bad there is no other option but to remove the full nail to allow for healing. This can also be done with or without acid.

Your Practitioner will advise you on your best option at your consultation.