The ABC’s of Ingrown Toenail Surgery : Part B The Basics

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Part B – Ingrown Toenail Surgery Basics

In Part A of this series, we introduced you to the Anatomy of an Ingrown Toenail. Now you have a better awareness of what an ingrown toenail consists of, the way it manifests, some cautionary warnings, and a few trial home remedies as well. You’ve soaked your foot, worn toeless shoes, and resisted the urge to cut the offending nail.

But now you recognize that something’s just not right, and the pain is getting worse. You’re having secondary symptoms: bleeding, skin overgrowth, green or yellow pus draining from the lesion, a foul odor (we call it malodor), and maybe redness creeping up your toe.

It’s time for the next step!

Ingrown Toenail Surgery

First and foremost, if you have symptoms of an ingrown toenail and you also have:

• diabetes, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or other autoimmune diseases;
• circulatory affliction such as high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, thrombotic disorders, or cardiovascular disease;

Do not pass Go, do not collect $200 – head straight to a podiatrist!

Surgery for an Ingrown toenail is actually accomplished with an in-office procedure – so there’s no need to take days off work, get assistance with transportation, arrange babysitters, and book dog walkers. You can make your appointment over your lunch break and return to work after you leave the doctor’s office. You will be given care instructions to follow over the next few weeks, then instructed to return for a final checkup. What’s not to love about that?

Place the phone call now and make the appointment as soon as possible, with a podiatrist, before the condition worsens. One visit, that’s what you want – not antibiotics first and a procedure down the road. A matrixectomy is the all-in-one process which removes the offending nail border, cleans out any abscess underneath the nail fold, with phenol applied to dissolve the nail root to prevent its regrowth.

What You’re Worried About

1. The shot – There are 4 nerves in the big toe that must be numbed prior to the procedure. The injection takes less than a minute, and you won’t feel anything after that. As Dr. Elizabeth Auger says, “It’s a little bit of pain and a whole lot of comfort afterward.”
2. Losing a whole nail – That’s not going to happen. Instead, the matrixectomy procedure gets to ‘the root of the matter,’ by curettage of the nail groove and matrix cavity, not the nail plate.
3. Pain after surgery – After a 30-minute procedure in the podiatrist’s office, there is an immediate decrease in pain; the toe will be numb for the first few hours. Any further pain is easily controlled with Ibuprofen 600mg per 8 hours as needed, and by applying an ice pack.
4. Pregnancy – If you are pregnant you absolutely want to have this procedure rather than having an increasingly serious infection going on in your body. Neither the shot nor the phenol applied by a podiatrist will be harmful for you.

What Surgery Will Do for You

Your toe will heal up nicely. The swelling, redness, and pain will alleviate. Draining will cease as the infection is interrupted, and your pain will come to an end. Wearing socks and shoes will feel normal again, and comfortable.

 

Instead of constant worry and painful episodes, you can focus on properly caring for and grooming your feet, choosing appropriate shoes (and lacing techniques) for your activities and foot structure, flexibility exercises and healthy eating habits (see Part C – Post-Surgical Care of Ingrown Toenails).

 

Elizabeth E. Auger, DM has been a practicing holistic podiatrist in Salt Lake City for nearly two decades, and as an athlete herself, Dr. Auger is especially knowledgeable in the area of sports injuries. She takes all new patients, offering personalized foot care solutions for those with a sedentary lifestyle or in a rehabilitative state, from infants to senior citizens.