Temporary or Permanent Procedure?

The only true cure for an ingrown nail is having the troublesome area removed either temporarily or permanently. If this is your first occurrence of an ingrown nail, your doctor will likely recommend a temporary removal and wait for the nail to grow out—it may grow back normally. If however you suffer from chronic, long-standing ingrown toenails, one of several procedures can be performed to prevent that portion of nail from re-growing. A potential complication of permanent nail procedures is nail regrowth; no guarantees as to the permanent removal of your nail can be made. Permanent procedures may not be performed in the presence of infection—this is at the discretion of your podiatrist and extent of infection.

Permanent procedures can be performed chemically or surgically. Both procedures require numbing of the toe and removing the offending portion of nail. Chemical destruction entails the implantation of a chemical that dissolves the nail matrix killing the nail root by chemical burn. The most commonly used chemicals are phenol and alcohol. This procedure is quick, safe, and relatively painless with few complications; the most common complication being a small burn of the skin surrounding the nail. A small amount of drainage from the area is normal, and soaking the foot twice a day will help keep the area clean. For partial nail avulsions, the result is a thinner nail that is much less likely to become ingrown. For complete nail avulsions, a firm layer of skin will take the former nail’s place.

Surgical correction of an ingrown nail may be preferred if your nail fold (the skin adjacent to the ingrown portion of nail) is hypertrophied (overgrown) and contributing to the painful symptoms. Along with the offending nail border, a section of the overgrown skin is removed with a scalpel. Sutures connecting the new skin margin with the nail bed are applied and left in for 10 to 14 days. The foot should be kept dry until the sutures are removed. Pain medications may be prescribed for any discomfort during the recovery period, but severe pain is uncommon.