In-growing toenails; anybody had them treated surgically? Partial nail avulsion?

I've seen two or three podiatrists, and have been wondering about surgery. I very nearly agreed to a full nail avulsion, or removal, by a surgeon, but then I changed my mind after asking my GP who did not recommend it. He recommended trying to live with it. It could be something other than an ingrowing toe nail, corn perhaps, but whatever it is, it's painful when I'm wearing shoes, OK when I'm wearing sandals.

I'm not worried about the cost so much as wondering how traumatic it is post operation, and what the chances of success are.

Anyway, interested in hear of anybody's experiences. I like going to see podiatrists, who have generally done wonders with my feet, getting rid of corns permanently for instance.

Thanks.

My daughter had it done in 2009 under a ring block, then the nail bed was treated with phenol to stop that bit of the nail growing back. Her's was in such a mess (weeping and bleeding and so sore), but it had taken months to persuade her to see anyone, so it was far less sore post op than it was before!

She hasn't looked back since and it was a complete success. I think she wished she'd been braver earlier..

I had ingrown nails as a teenager, just big toes though.

The doctor told me to take some Paracetamol and lever the corner up, jam some wadded up tissue under there and wait. Repeat a few days later.

I remember it being so painful that I could hardly walk.

In a few weeks it had grown out and over the skin.

Never cut nail that short again.

Please don't listen to a GP about your feet, not above a podiatrist anyway!

It's not too traumatic at all. It's a short procedure and should completely resolve the problem. In the UK (NHS) phenol is standard.

I would usually (not always, but more often than not) not advise a partial nail avulsion, totals are often preferable. And toe nails serve little purpose... the skin underneath often toughens up nicely after removal too!

I have 1 year left until I qualify as a Podiatrist though, so I'm no expert (yet)

Its just that there are common questions and aprehensions regarding the procedure, and they are usually overcome after speaking with a podiatrist, who of course has been extensively trained in making clinical decisions about the reasons for and against removing an ingrowing nail.

Best of luck xx

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My husband has had surgery please pm me with any questions but I've just read out your message and he says the following

"he has both part removal and full nail removal for in growing toe nails, having the full removal is a longer recovery time which was a few weeks, you can't wear proper shoes but Sandles will be prefect for the first week of recovery. He says wearing normal shoes after surgery a normal shoe feels like someone is stood on your toes. He said the recovery (my husbands was super bad in growing he would be neat to tears with the pain before surgery), asked if it was worth it he said differently his never had an issue since with his nails the surgery and the pain he went through proior to surgery caused him so much discomfort that he would do it again if he was in the same position.

if you have anymore questions I can ask my husband he doesn't mind answering them as his been through the surgery of it partial removal and full remova later on. He has not regretted it.

Ps sorry for spelling mistakes on my mobile phone answering which loves to auto correct etc

I've seen two or three podiatrists, and have been wondering about surgery. I very nearly agreed to a full nail avulsion, or removal, by a surgeon, but then I changed my mind after asking my GP who did not recommend it. He recommended trying to live with it. It could be something other than an ingrowing toe nail, corn perhaps, but whatever it is, it's painful when I'm wearing shoes, OK when I'm wearing sandals.

 

I'm not worried about the cost so much as wondering how traumatic it is post operation, and what the chances of success are.

 

Anyway, interested in hear of anybody's experiences. I like going to see podiatrists, who have generally done wonders with my feet, getting rid of corns permanently for instance.

 

Thanks.

I suffer with them. Had one quite bad when I was a kid. Gp gave me local and cut away down the infected side. Healed up in a couple of weeks. I cut them carefully now. Never rip. Usually pretty good but had a bad one last year. Went all horribly wrong. Didn't see a GP, and it fixed itself, but I was hobbling for a month.

Ps sorry for spelling mistakes on my mobile phone answering which loves to auto correct etc

My mobile phone is similarly disobedient, but sometimes I like to let "him" off the leash and accept whatever words he prefers, at least on the diary app I've started using this year. I didn't like it at first - the diary app - but it's grown on me, though I still prefer "real" writing in a book.

Thanks for the advice on ingrowing toenails. I guess there's no hurry as it's painful but not infected and I only really notice it with shoes on. It's only really become a problem in the last year or so. I've spoken to the podiatrist about having the partial avulsion.

Please don't listen to a GP about your feet, not above a podiatrist anyway!

 

It's not too traumatic at all. It's a short procedure and should completely resolve the problem. In the UK (NHS) phenol is standard.

I would usually (not always, but more often than not) not advise a partial nail avulsion, totals are often preferable. And toe nails serve little purpose... the skin underneath often toughens up nicely after removal too!

 

I have 1 year left until I qualify as a Podiatrist though, so I'm no expert (yet)

Its just that there are common questions and aprehensions regarding the procedure, and they are usually overcome after speaking with a podiatrist, who of course has been extensively trained in making clinical decisions about the reasons for and against removing an ingrowing nail.

 

Best of luck xx

 

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I've discussed it with the new podiatrist whom I'm seeing ("who" I'm seeing?) I think she does the partial ones for preference which involves coming on one day, then back again the following day to check on it. I did nearly have a full removal of the nail by a surgeon. He's done hernias and colonoscopies for me so I "trust" him, but removing the entire nail suddenly seemed like a major operation even if it isn't.

I take your point about listening to my podiatrist over my GP. I see a dentist for my teeth, optometrist for my eyes, but he doesn't feed me any BS, and in the past I've been guilty of pushing for more treatment, more services, and I'm sure I've done things that did not really need doing.

I actually cut mine down at the edges, which is what they don't advise you to do. But it works for me. I didn't have the phenol stuff applied when I had mine done.

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Ingrown-toenail/Pages/Introduction.aspx

I had my left toenail removed and phenolised by a NHS podiatrist and haven't had a problem with it since. After damaging the right toe nail, my Aussie GP removed it and didn't phenolise it and it grew back wonky. So he removed it again and phenolised it but not properly -- and it grew back again wonky. I am now seeing a podiatrist every few months to get it shaped, he has told me to get another podiatrist to remove it again - but I am a coward...

It all seems a lot less serious to me I suppose as it's what I'm trained to do in a very clinical way.

To me it seems ludicrous that a GP or surgeon would consider doing a TNA or PNA.

A podiatric surgeon wouldn't seem abnormal, as they are trained as a Podiatrist in the first instance.

In my training and education to date, both partial and total removal are almost one and the same with the exception that a partial is slightly more involved when it comes to the procedure as the nail must me separated correctly to remove. There are instances where this is clinically preferable, but often the patient psychologically sees this option as better!

With regards to a (genral?) Surgeon carrying it out, and it being a major op.... I will be carrying out total nail removals this year in the 3rd and final year of my degree.

I will be supervised by a podiatrist or a podiatric surgeon. Any podiatrist trained today to degree level will be capable and competent in this procedure. I would have to investigate further to support this, but I'm not sure of any other profession who concentrate on, or train specifically for TNAs or PNAs xx

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I had my left toenail removed and phenolised by a NHS podiatrist and haven't had a problem with it since. After damaging the right toe nail, my Aussie GP removed it and didn't phenolise it and it grew back wonky. So he removed it again and phenolised it but not properly -- and it grew back again wonky. I am now seeing a podiatrist every few months to get it shaped, he has told me to get another podiatrist to remove it again - but I am a coward...

I've been Googling again and found a comprehensive article from a New Zealand source - http://www.bpac.org.nz/BPJ/2014/December/ingrown-toenails.asp. I noticed you mention you are seeing one podiatrist but he's told you to get another one to do the removal. From my own experience, it seems that some podiatrists don't seem to do a lot of the surgical procedures? I'm going to continue to consider my options.

I damaged the big toenail on my right foot and it ended up ingrowing, so I had a partial removal/phenolisation. The worst part was actually getting me in the chair! I'd had some major surgery to that same foot previously, which was easily the most painful thing I have ever experienced, so I was very anxious about having anything else done to it. My GP gave me some valium to manage the anxiety, but aside from the sting as the anaesthetic went in it was all fine. I've not had any trouble with it since, from memory it healed pretty quickly and now the nail just looks slightly narrower. It was done by a podiatrist.

I've currently got a black toenail which I expect will drop off at some point, caused by a combination of dropping something heavy on it and the huge amount of walking I do, I guess.

I damaged the big toenail on my right foot and it ended up ingrowing, so I had a partial removal/phenolisation. The worst part was actually getting me in the chair! I'd had some major surgery to that same foot previously, which was easily the most painful thing I have ever experienced, so I was very anxious about having anything else done to it. My GP gave me some valium to manage the anxiety, but aside from the sting as the anaesthetic went in it was all fine. I've not had any trouble with it since, from memory it healed pretty quickly and now the nail just looks slightly narrower. It was done by a podiatrist.

 

I've currently got a black toenail which I expect will drop off at some point, caused by a combination of dropping something heavy on it and the huge amount of walking I do, I guess.

Soaking my foot in water and Epsom salts as I read this. I've been trying this for a few days and might make another appointment to see the podiatrist next week. It's not infected and is only painful when I bang it against inside of my shoe. With sandals, no problem. 1559 got to go work!

Have a partial nail avulsion with a podiatrist. Incisional nail procedures by surgeons are painful and rarely work!

I'm still managing mine by going to see the podiatrist once a month or so. It's not like it's a mega pain.

I'd just get a PNA - it's a minor procedure and even with phenol will heal up in a couple of weeks. I had both my big toes done (by a colleague - I knew who to ask!), and although the injections were a bit ouchy (LA always is but only for a minute or so), it was no problem at all. The concern I always have with conservative management is that as you get older and/or develop chronic health problems it can make it technically more difficult to do a PNA, in which case you can be stuck with a painful toe, that may be infected and won't heal. I used to see a whole bunch of people who would have avoided the problems they were seeing me for, if only they'd had a PNA years before. But, there are those who never really get any serious problems and are happy to live with intermittent pain/discomfort. Just thought I'd add my perspective, as someone who's done over 1,000 nail procedures...

I guess I'm edging slowly towards having the PNA. I went to the podiatrist last Monday and the left nail is still sore, although it may settle down. I only notice the pain when I'm wearing shoes.

I suffered badly from ingrowing toenails for years and the pain was so awful that I finally decided to have my nails removed. It was done by a surgeon in a hospital with local anaesthetic and was the best thing I could have done. Couldn't go to work for the first week for fear of people treading on my toes on the tube and closed shoes hurt too much. The toe nails grew back completely normal and I haven't looked back since. I'm just careful now not to cut the nails too short

Obviously moving to Australia has helped as I wear open shoes for much longer than I did in the UK.

Good luck

I had an in-grown toenail though in a much more milder form. I used to soak my foot in warm and soapy water three to four times a day. This helped in keeping my feet clean. You could even add epsom salt to the water to soften the skin of the affected area. 

One of the podiatrists I see suggested that I apply Vaseline to soften the skin. I had an appointment on Thursday and I think my (left) toe is sorer although it may settle down.

Definitely open toe shoes make a difference because you can't bang the toes althoiugh someone could still step on them.

I just looked back and see it's 8 months since I first posted my question about in growing toenail treatment.

The good thing about nail surgery is that it can offer complete resolution... but that aside, you can also soften the skin using olive oil [emoji6]

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I use to try and cut the nail off myself by digging it out first, I wouldn't recommend it but I found it less painful than the ingrown nail itself

On 4/22/2017 at 11:00 PM, GiveAGirlShoes said:

The good thing about nail surgery is that it can offer complete resolution... but that aside, you can also soften the skin using olive oil

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I just dabbed a bit of olive oil on my big toes. Perhaps I should have removed my sandals first!?