Surgical treatment of ingrown toenails

Surgical Treatment of Ingrown Toenails 

“Ingrown toenail” is a condition in which the nail plate of one or more toes, mainly the feet, begins to grow in the wrong direction, causing mechanical irritation of the surrounding tissues and chronic inflammation, accompanied by varying degrees of discomfort. When a secondary infection is added to the inflammation, the symptoms worsen, with a secretion that dries into crusts and has an unpleasant odour. The causes of this condition are different – improper nail trimming, increased sweating of the feet, wearing uncomfortable shoes, chronic trauma in some sports, some nail diseases and many others. 

Before the intervention itself, you should go through a consultation with a specialist from our clinic, with whom you will specify whether the intervention is suitable for you and ask all your questions. 

The treatment of ingrown nails is to eliminate the cause of their appearance. If this is not enough for spontaneous improvement, surgical treatment is performed, which never involves the removal of the entire nail. Adequate surgical treatment of an ingrown toenail is the partial removal of that part of the nail plate that grows together with the adjacent matrix (nail root) after placement of wired anaesthesia (local anaesthesia). Due to the removal not only of the ingrown nail plate, but also of the matrix from which it grows, the results are excellent, with recurrences being an exception. The cosmetic result is also very good, especially if no previous surgical treatment with removal of the entire nail plate is undertaken. 

After the intervention, it is good to limit your daily physical activity for at least a week after the manipulation, and with adequate care and no complications, the surgical wound heals in 2 to 3 weeks.