Do I Need Surgery for my Ingrown Nail?
Ingrown Toenails can be extremely painful and debilitating and even minor problems can quickly flare into something much worse if left untreated.
At Waikato Podiatry Clinic we have treated thousands of ingrown toenails successfully over many years and unfortunately, many are the result of poor nail cutting, picking, poor footwear and by patients digging sharp objects down the sides of the nails to try and clean them out.
Avoid digging anything down the sides of your toenails and if there is a slight irritation, pick up the phone and call us.
All it takes is for the skin to be scratched, ever so slightly, and this small break in the skin can lead to an infection.
More Ingrown Toenails in Summer
Statistically, warmer months produce more ingrown toenails than cooler months.
When it’s warm, the skin around the nail becomes soft due to sweat and retained moisture within the shoe, however the nail is hard and with constant shoe pressure the nail can penetrate and break the skin.
So poorly fitted footwear can also be a problem and can significantly increase the chance of ingrown toenails.
What Are My Treatment Options?
Regardless of the cause, treatment for an ingrown toenail is quite simple.
At Waikato Podiatry Clinic our podiatrist will first and foremost take a detailed medical history before commencing any form of treatment, because it’s important to know if this has been an ongoing problem, or if it’s your first ingrown toenail.
Your answer will determine the type of treatment undertaken.
It’s also important to know how painful it is. Sometimes an ingrown toenail can look terrible and be relatively pain free. If this is the case treatment is simple and usually involves simple trimming of the nail away from the nail groove and applying a sterile dressing.
When treating ingrown toenails, it is advisable to review all treatment within three to five days.
When Is Surgery Required?
If you’ve had a long history of painful ingrown toenails and conservative treatment has been unsuccessful, then a minor surgical procedure may be the best option.
This procedure is relatively painless and is performed under local anaesthetic in our podiatry rooms, and you do not need a referral from your GP.
When local anaesthetic is injected into the toe it is numb within minutes, making the ingrown toenail surgery completely pain free.
The whole procedure is completed in under an hour, and once the area is dressed, you will walk out of our clinic pain free. Even when the anaesthetic wears off, rarely does anyone complain of pain, because all the podiatrists at Waikato Podiatry Clinic are highly trained Podiatrists.
Success Rate
At Waikato Podiatry Clinic we perform this procedure hundreds of times every year with a 100% success rate. When you have nail surgery, we get great results, which is why patients travel quite a distance to receive treatment at our Pembroke Street and Rototuna clinics.
