Ingrown Toenail Surgery Treatment Specialist in Aberdeen
An ingrowing toenail (IGTN) is extremely painful causing inflammation and often infection by a piece of nail piercing the flesh. It can cause bleeding and pus mostly affecting the large toe nails although can affect the lesser nails too.
This can be confused by a involuted or convoluted nail which does not pierce the skin however can feel very painful and also appear red and inflamed.
Causes of IGTN include:
- Tight fitting footwear /hosiery /socks
- Excessivley sweaty feet
- Brittle nails
- Your gait / posture
- Not cutting one’s nails properly
- Fungal infection
Our team of Podiatrists will treat you depending on the severity of your IGTN
- For the most basic painful and irritable IGTN, the spike of nail will be removed and dressed with an appropriate dressing.
- Local anaesthetic can be injected before removing of the spike of nail.
- For involuted nails the part of nail curling into the flesh is removed and edges smoothed.
- For any bleeding of discard from infection or excessive flesh around the nail, antibiotics will be prescribed along with removal of the offending spike of nail.
- For those prone to IGTNs from underlying factors, part or the whole nail removal would be recommended. This is carried out under local anaesthetic whereby the nail would be permanently removed and a chemical called ‘phenol’ cauterises the nail and prevents it regrowing. Post surgery there will be follow up dressings until 100% healed.
