Surgical ingrown nail treatment
- description of the treatment
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The Derm-Al Centre offers advanced ingrown toenail treatment methods that usually make it possible to avoid surgery (nail correction with an orthonyx bracket or the Arkada’s method). However, if surgery is needed, as it happens in rare cases, we also perform surgical treatment of ingrown toenails.
Surgical methods of ingrown toenail treatment include:
- the Quenu method - the lateral, ingrown part of the toenail is cut out in the shape of a wedge, together with the nail bed (matrix), soft tissue and nailfold. Most of the toenail plate is left, and it rarely happens that the entire plate needs to be removed, e.g. in the case of purulent inflammation, or if the toenail is completely damaged by mycosis. After such treatment, the nail usually grows back in place. If a disorder was caused not caused by mechanical factors, such as injury, too tight shoes or improper nail cutting, this means that a patient has a tendency for ingrown toenails and the problem may reappear.
- phenolisation - the edge of a toenail is cut out (the same as in the previous procedure) and 88% phenol solution is applied. This procedure does not require stitches. Phenol application causes permanent removal of a fragment of nail matrix, as a result of which the nail grows back in place in a new, more narrow shape, and the problem does not reappear.
How does the procedure work
The procedure is painless and performed in local anaesthesia with 1% Lingocaina. If it is necessary to remove a substantial amount of tissue, the surgeon will apply single stitches. However, wound dressing is enough in most cases. The procedure does not affect daily activity, although it is advised to avoid exposing the toe to irritation for a few days after the procedure.
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Elżbieta Bednarczyk,
medical doctor