Nail surgery is the surgical complete or partial removal of severe or returning ingrown and fungal toenails under local anaesthetic. It is usually offered when a patient presents with a problematic ingrown toenail that is causing them a lot of discomfort. If the nail cannot be managed conservatively through regular podiatry visits, nail surgery is considered.

Nail surgery may sometimes be offered if the nail is damaged due to a fungal infection.

Who can benefit from nail surgery?

Nail surgery will be offered depending on a patient's age and general health. A full assessment prior to surgery will determine a patient's suitability for surgery.

What does nail surgery involve?

If following an assessment a patient is deemed suitable for nail surgery, the following procedure will be followed:

• The patient is seated in a comfortable position and the toe is disinfected to provide a clean site for injection.
• Local anaesthetic is injected into the toe to make it numb.
• Once the toe is completely numb a tourniquet is applied around the toe to prevent any bleeding during the procedure.
• Once the tourniquet is applied, the edge of the nail or the complete nail is removed.
• We then chemically cauterise the nail bed to prevent regrowth.
• A dressing is applied to the toe and the tourniquet is removed.
• The patient is given advise on how to care for the toe following the procedure.
• The patient will return to the clinic for assessment of the wound and to change their dressing.

What are the benefits of nail surgery?

Nail surgery is extremely effective and has many benefits, they include:

• It has a high success rate.
• It provides immediate relief from the pain associated with an ingrown toenail.
• The nail is more visually aesthetic once the damaged or diseased nail is removed.
• If the area is infected surgery removes the cause and therefore the infection.
• The surgery can be carried out here in the clinic, hospital admission is not required.