Toenail Surgery

Ingrown toe nails occur when skin next to a nail grows over the edges of the nail, or when the nail itself grows into the skin. This is painful and can lead to infection of the toe. Sometimes the condition becomes chronic, with repeated episodes of pain and infection.

Ingrown toenails may be caused by:

• Improper trimming of nails.
• Very curved / curly edges of the nails.
• Shoe pressure or repeated trauma to the feet from daily activities.
• They can be inherited, foot shape and posture run in the family.
• Previous or current nail problems, such as fungal infections or losing a toenail due to trauma.

In the past, a full toenail often had to be removed because of recurrent in-growing. Fortunately, those days are gone. At Footpoint Podiatry, we use a procedure called partial nail avulsion with sterilisation. This will remove a small piece of the offending nail aesthetically and eliminate regrowth. We use a local anaesthetic for all nail surgery so the procedure is pain-free.