Ingrown Toenail Surgery And Care Adelaide

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Podiatry Surgery for Ingrown Toenails in Adelaide

Inertia Podiatrists are experts at alleviating pain associated with an Ingrown Toenail through Ingrown Toenail Surgery and Care.

If you are suffering pain with an ingrown toenail and have tried remedies that don’t quite take the edge off it might be time to take the edge off and have that pesky ingrown toenail surgically removed.

What Is an Ingrown Toenail?

An ingrown toenail otherwise known as Onychocryptosis most often occur when part of the nail can occur when a part of the nail mostly along the edge cuts through the skin during the growth phase of the nail. The reasons for this are usually due to trauma, poor nail cutting techniques or a variation of the shape of the nail in a curved manner. Bacteria is then able to find its way into the nail as it is now open to infection. The nail then continues to grow and infection gradually worsens a pain increases and the development of a painful ingrown toenail occurs. More often than not an ingrown toenail is more common in the big toe, but the smaller toes can also develop this, however, are less susceptible.

What causes ingrown Toenails?

Ingrown toenails have a number of causes. The most common causes we see in the clinic are described below. However,

Nails are best to be cut along the toe contour or straight across it. We advise that trimming the edges of the toenail or picking at the toenail can be damaging to the nail and its growth leading to an ingrown toenail.

Most often the nail edge curves into the skin do to trauma or genetic trait.

This causes increases in the pressure on the nails and can lead to ingrown toenails.

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What does an Ingrown Toenail look like?

Ingrown toenails have a wide spectrum of presentation. They can be very mild in their presentation or they can be very severe or fall anywhere in between. Most of the time a very mild ingrown toenail will present with very slight redness and some swelling while the more severe presentations are usually highly inflamed, with pussy discharge. Having a discussion with your Podiatrist about your ingrown toenail is important as there may be a variety of potential treatment options available to you. Having an ingrown toenail does not mean you will require and ingrown toenail surgery, it is an option and your Podiatrist will be able to discuss these with you to find suitable options.

How to Treat and Ingrown Toenail?

As mentioned there are a variety of treatment options available for an ingrown toenail. However, it is best to consult with your Podiatrist before beginning any method. A poorly treated ingrown toenail to fast escalate to further health issue even sepsis or blood poisoning if left untreated.

How does a Podiatrist Treat an Ingrown Toenail?

Ingrown toenails are usually trimmed back with sterile nail clippers and the nails edge can be removed skilfully minimising risk to surrounding tissue.

If this more conservative method cannot be achieved for your particular ingrown toenail then removal under local analgesia may be offered. This will allow your podiatrist to resect the ingrown toenails edge to hopefully assist in resolving the infection.

How do you stop getting Ingrown Toenails?

To completely stop ingrown toenails from reoccurring a long term strategy should be implemented. This usually involves Ingrown Toenail surgery. A procedure can involve a partial nail Avulsion with phenolisation which occurs under anaesthetic. This usually sees the nails edge removed and a chemical applied to the root of the nail to stop regrowth of the nail tissue. This is a highly effective and successful treatment technique with only a small percentage of patients experiencing regrowth over many decades. This is the best way to rid Ingrown Toenails in the long term as they do have a tendency to regularly return with the more conservative options.

How is Ingrown Toenail Surgery Performed?

Ingrown toenail surgery is performed under a local anaesthetic that numbs the toe that the Podiatrist is working on. The Anaesthesia can last for 1-2 hours after the surgery providing some longer term pain relief. The Podiatrist will conduct the procedure in their clinical room under sterile conditions to minimise infection risks. The Podiatrist will apply a Tourniquet to the toe to minimise bleeding during the surgery. The offending part of the nail is then gently trimmed and removed without the need to cut any skin. The podiatrist then applies a chemical to the root of the nail to prevent further growth in that section of the nail. The area is bandaged and your Podiatrist will provide you with post operative precautions an review you in the coming days to assess and change dressings as required.

Patients can then walk out of the clinic following the surgery, however, we will usually advise someone be able to assist you leaving and returning home. Usually minimal pain relief is required however, your Podiatrist will discuss this with you on an individual basis. Upon healing in the coming weeks the Toenail will look like a normal nail but just look slightly slimmer/ narrower than it once was.

A simplified version of a Partial Nail Avulsion surgery below-