Author: Hanan Kane

Patient Experience: What’s It Like To Have Ingrown Toenail Surgery?

Ever wish you knew someone that has gone through the same procedure as you so you knew what to expect? We absolutely get it – and while ingrown toenail surgeries are common enough these days that you’ll likely know someone that has had it done – it’s also not the type of thing that many go bragging to their friends about. So, we’ve shared the experience for you! Here’s the low-down on what having an ingrown toenail surgery with the Auckland Ingrown Toenail Clinic is really like, as told retrospectively by one of our patients. Choosing the Auckland Ingrown Toenail Clinic I found the ingrown toenail clinic, and hence Perform Podiatry, on Google. They weren’t too far away, they had good reviews, and I liked that the podiatrist I’d be seeing would be very experienced in ingrown toenails. The website also mentioned an all-inclusive price – I know multiple appointments with health professionals can add up quickly, so knowing the full cost was great. The First Appointment I decided to see someone about my ingrown toenail because this was my third ingrown in the last 4 or so years. I was over the pain and wanted it fixed by a professional. I called in the afternoon and got an appointment for the next day. The first part of the appointment was easy. The podiatrist checked my nail and asked a bunch of questions. She told me that I had multiple options, and what each involved. One option was to remove the piece of nail that was causing me pain right there and then. I was told that was good for those who have never had an ingrown nail before, as it may not come back. I knew I needed something permanent so I wouldn’t have to deal with this nail in the future.  One of the other options was a procedure called a partial nail avulsion. It’d be done in under an hour, it was permanent (or they’d re-do it), I’d need minimal time off work, and I met their criteria for the procedure. This was what I’d wanted.  The Procedure I booked in to have the procedure the next day as it’d be a Friday and I’d have the weekend to take it easy.  When I arrived, the room was already “set up” – very clean and with the equipment ready. The same podiatrist that I saw the day before cleaned my toe with iodine and the worst part of the procedure was done – the anaesthetic. It worked, my toe was numb, and the only thing I felt for the rest of the time was pressure.  They showed me the piece of nail they removed – it was bigger than I thought. It looked like I had cut the nail but missed the part right at the end and just pulled the nail off, leaving a big piece in. They put a bunch of bandages on my toe to protect it. The whole process was done in about 45-50 minutes. I was given instructions to come back on Monday, NOT get the toe wet in any way, not wear tight shoes, rest the foot and put it on a pillow on the couch, and that if it becomes painful to take some specific painkillers. I did take some Friday night as my toe throbbed after the anaesthetic wore off but didn’t take any more after that. I didn’t do too much on the weekend, and avoided putting on closed shoes as that’d hurt the toe. The Check At Monday’s appointment, I got a bag filled with the same dressings they used. They removed my dressings to check how the toe was going (which seemed fine) and taught me how to dress it again. I was told to re-dress it anytime it got wet and every few days for the next week. I was to come back in another week to check that it was healing nicely. I went back to work that week and wore shoes that didn’t press on my toe. I redressed as instructed. A week later I came back and was told that as everything had closed over nicely, I could change the dressings as the infection risk was minimised. The toe was still a bit pink and I could see the dried blood etc, but it wasn’t painful as long as I didn’t hit it/push against it and I was told it was healing nicely, and to let the podiatrist know if anything changed. The Result About 7 or so weeks later the toe was pretty much back to normal. The nail was a little smaller, but not by much and you can’t really tell unless I point it out. The nail edge is just very smooth and straight and doesn’t curl down into the side so much. Am now looking forward to not having any problems with my toenail!

Caring For Your Ingrown Toenails After Nail Surgery

If you’ve recently had an ingrown toenail surgery and are wondering how to optimise your recovery, here are some quick tips that we let our patients know about after their procedures.

Immediately after your procedure

  • Take the rest of your day off from work, school and any physical activity commitments. You want to kickstart the healing process and reduce the risk of continued bleeding
  • Keep your foot elevated as much as possible for the rest of the day
  • Use paracetamol if you need to manage pain, as opposed to ibuprofen, which can thin the blood
  • Don’t get your foot wet, shower with your foot completely waterproof, or wait until the next day to shower
  • Keep your foot clean, and don’t remove your dressing
  • Don’t drive on the day after your procedure
  • Don’t wear closed-in footwear on the day of your procedure

Within the first week of your procedure

  • Return within 2-3 days for your dressing change
  • After your redressing with us, redress your toe every 1-2 days, or anytime that your toe gets wet
  • Don’t remove or play with your dressing before your first dressing change
  • Don’t get your toe or dressing wet, if you do, let us know and we may get you in earlier to redress your toe
  • Avoid wearing tight shoes and socks that push on your toe
  • Avoid any activity that causes toe pain
  • Take time to elevate your foot where possible
  • Avoid any physical activities that involve kicking and direct impact to the toe

The first one to two weeks

  • Return for your one week check with us, where we’ll be able to check the status of your healing and debride if needed
  • At this stage, different people may be at different healing stages, so it’s important to listen to the advice of your podiatrist
  • Continue to redress your toe as instructed. We’ll let you know when you can switch the kind of dressing you use to one that is less rigorous
  • Be cautious during physical activity until your toe has healed sufficiently
  • Continue to avoid any activities that cause you pain
  • Wear open-toed shoes as much as possible to encourage healing
  • Let your podiatrist know if you are experiencing significant pain, or are worried about infection

After two weeks

At this stage, your toe should have healed sufficiently to not be bleeding or leaking any white or yellow fluid. This means that you should be able to continue with a simple dressing to cover the toe, as opposed to heavier absorbent dressings. Many people will now be able to return to regular physical activities and wearing regular shoes. We do not anticipate that you will be experiencing significant pain. If you do, continue to use paracetamol as directed. Depending on your health and other medical conditions, it can take anywhere from 2-8 weeks for complete healing. If you’re worried about your progress, give us a call. 

What Is It Like To Have Ingrown Toenail Surgery?

We know it’s often referred to as ingrown toenail surgery, but honestly – that makes it sound so serious and scary! The truth is that these are very simple and straightforward procedures.  They are done in your regular appointment chair. They are done under local anaesthetic, so it’s painless. The total ‘treatment’ time is normally less than 20 minutes. You have no special precautions beforehand like with other surgeries – you don’t need to fast. In fact, we recommend you eat a good breakfast so that you have a good blood sugar level. In this way, it’s much more like a dental treatment than surgery.  Today, we’re exposing the truth behind Partial Nail Avulsions (PNA) – and why they should not be feared, but looked forward to in terms of the relief you can expect to experience once your pain is gone, and you don’t have to keep putting up with one ingrown toenail after another.

Step one: We get you ready, you sit back and relax

When you first come in for your procedure, you have a really important job: Sit back and relax. We are assuming that you’ve already signed the consent forms, asked every single question on your mind, and are a good fit to have the procedure (like that you don’t have severe circulatory problems that mean you don’t heal). If you haven’t, that’ll be the first step. We’ll start getting you ready by cleaning and disinfecting your foot and toes. We follow strict hygiene and sterilisation protocols here, so take the time to help you have the best experience with us and your procedure. This is completely painless, and if you’re not interested in watching what is happening to your feet, you may wish to scroll through your newsfeed or catch up on emails. 

Step two: We numb your toe

You sit back and relax, we inject anaesthetic through a small, fine needle directly into your toe. You’ll feel a short-lived pinch, and then we’ll wait five or so minutes for the numbness to take full effect. We’ll feel around your toe, making sure that you definitely can’t feel any sensation. Once you give us the all-clear, we start the procedure!

Step three: Goodbye, small piece of ingrown toenail

Your procedure starts with us wrapping a ring around the toe (tourniquet) so that it doesn’t bleed when we do our thing. Next, we’ll cut your nail, in the corner where the nail has ingrown, and remove it from the corner using fancy sterilised equipment.  We need to emphasise: This is not half your toenail, or even a quarter. It is a small sliver of nail, close to the nail edge. Your nail will not look disfigured or unusually small. Normally, it is unnoticeable until you point it out to a friend, in which case their response is something along the lines of “Oh, yeah, I can see that the edge of that nail is very straight”. We keep your cosmetic appearance in mind, so only remove as much nail as we need to to get the job done well

Step four: Making it permanent

If you’ve opted for a permanent ingrown toenail treatment, this is the step where we’ll apply a chemical to the base of the nail to destroy the nail growing cells. Without nail growing cells in that nail edge, the goal is that the nail won’t grow back. We’ll flush the chemical out after 90 seconds, and then we’re almost done!

Step five: We wrap your toe up

It’s time to dress your toe. We’ll apply an antiseptic ointment or two to the area, dress it well using sterile dressings, and run you through the do’s and don’ts until we see you in a few days’ time. 

Step six: Goodie bag!

We give you a goodie bag to take home, filled with dressing materials and written instructions (because people forget easily, and we understand). Alternatively, we may give you your goodie bag at your next appointment.

Step seven: Your 2-3 day check

Two or three days after the procedure, you come in and we check how your toe is looking and that everything is progressing as we’d expect. We’ll redress your toe, and teach you the right way to do it using the materials in your goodie bag.

That’s it.

You’ll be redressing your toe for the next week, following instructions, and you may see us again one more time, but that truly is it. Nothing scary, or nerve-wracking. Yep, the anaesthetic can be unpleasant if you dislike needles, but it’s so short-lived that it’s over before you know it. If you’ve been battling recurring ingrown toenails and want a permanent solution – book in with our experienced podiatry team by clicking here or calling us on (09) 523 2333. 

Conservative Nail Care

 
  • Simple and easy
  • Safe and sterile
  • Immediate relief
  • Complete in 5-15 minutes
  • Anaesthetic available if required
Conservative management for ingrown toenails is an effective option for simple ingrown (or involuted) toenails that have become problematic for the first time. The pain is alleviated by using simple and sterile podiatric tools to trim back and remove the small piece of the nail that has penetrated the skin. It’s simple, quick and an effective way of providing the relief you seek. This appointment not classified as a ‘nail surgery’ and typically does not use anaesthetic to numb the area, though this is an option if preferred. Before the procedure, your nail and toe are assessed for signs of infection, the ability of the toe to successfully heal, and any complications that may arise. In particular, we look at the characteristics of your toenail in relation to the likelihood that this problem will recur, or whether it was likely a one-off occurrence. Because conservative management does not stop ingrown toenails from coming back, if it looks like it is likely to occur again, we’ll discuss this and all of your options with you so you can make the best choice of treatment. The next step up from conservative nail care is a partial nail avulsion.

Cost

The cost of one-off conservative nail care performed by our highly experienced podiatrists is $95.

Is Your Ingrown Toenail Oozing Clear or Yellow Pus? It’s Probably Infected

Ingrown toenails are painful and frustrating enough, so the last thing you want is to add an infection to the mix. Unfortunately, in our experience, a large number of ingrown toenails will get infected if proper treatment is undertaken – and it makes sense when you think about it. Today, our ingrown toenail specialists will be sharing:
  • Why the risk of developing an infection once you have an ingrown toenail is high
  • What you can do to prevent an infection before it develops
  • How you can treat your ingrown toenail and infection once it has occurred

You Have A Significant Risk Of Developing An Infection. Here’s Why

Let’s clear something up: ingrown toenails and infections are not a case of the chicken and the egg – the ingrown toenail comes first.  What classifies a sore toe as an ‘ingrown toenail’ is the moment that the sharp piece of nail goes from merely pushing against the surrounding skin, to actually piercing it and penetrating it. Think about that for a second – you have a piece of nail that is now constantly inside the skin through a cut down the side of the nail. Every time you walk and move, it’ll move slightly with vibrations of pressures from shoes and socks. Ouch! This also means that while a normal cut occurs and then can heal, this cut can’t – because the ingrown toenail is still constantly piercing it and so keeping the cut open.  An infection occurs when bacteria and other nasties enter the body. Usually, our skin is a fantastic barrier, so while there may be many nasties around us regularly, they never have an ‘in’. Until now. And especially at the ground where you may walk barefooted. And when you give it a perfectly placed entrance – there’s a strong chance that the infection will take hold and start to develop. Once the infection takes hold, it means increased swelling, pain and oozy discharge (and maybe blood) that is yellow/green/clear in nature and may ‘crust over’. 

Preventing An Infection From Your Ingrown Toenail Before It Develops

So how, then, can we prevent – or at least reduce the risk – of developing an infection? It’s quite simple, really. And no – no Epsom salts required just yet! As the cut from ingrown toenail creates an ‘in’ for the bacteria to take hold, the way to prevent an infection is to remove this ‘in’. This means removing the penetrating nail edge so that the cut can heal, close, and no longer be vulnerable to the infection. Simple, right? – Absolutely.

So How Do I Treat My Ingrown Toenail – And The Infection If I Already Have One?

The best way to ensure the proper care of your ingrown toenail is to see your Podiatrist. Our team here at the Ingrown Toenail Clinic are Podiatrists that are trained in simple and painless ingrown toenail surgeries, as well as conservative care where we safely remove that small, pesky nail edge in a matter of minutes. You’ll feel the relief almost instantly! We don’t recommend trying to cut back the nail at home because often the nail runs much deeper than you can see, so most people will miss removing the complete penetrating edge and their pain will only continue to worsen. You also won’t have the right tools for the job – whereas we have everything needed to do it quickly and easily – even anaesthetic if you need or want it! (though most people don’t). Once the sliver of nail is removed, the body will be able to effectively heal the wound and fight the infection – and of course, we’ll help it along by dressing it with betadine (antiseptic). You’re welcome to soak it in some Epsom salts too – but once the nail is out, it should be relatively simple and straightforward for it to heal and the infection to subside. No more painful, swollen discharge – hooray!

Auckland’s Ingrown Toenail Experts

We’re proud to be Auckland’s only Podiatry clinic that specialises in the safe and effective care of ingrown toenails – and we do a really good job of it. From simple and easy care to quickly remove the small nail edge, to minor nail surgery to permanently correct ingrown toenails, we’ve got you covered. You can book online here or give us a call on (09) 523 2333.

Are Your Children’s Shoes Causing Their Ingrown Toenails?

Shoes are one of the most common causes of ingrown toenails. Specifically – tight, narrow and ill-fitting shoes are a common cause for ingrown toenails. While we have the power to choose the shoes we’re wearing daily and buy new ones when needed – it’s a bit harder for our kids! Their feet are always growing, they’re less sensitive to noticing when their toes start hitting the ends and sides of their shoes and when pain does start, it’s almost always the worst pain ever*   So how do you select a shoe that fits well – and won’t encourage an ingrown toenail, either? Here are 5 things to look out for when selecting shoes for your kids!  

A good heel counter at the back of the shoe

Having a firm heel counter that cups the heel helps to stabilise the foot, support the heel and prevents it from rolling freely from side to side. It also stops the toes from having to curl down and grip the sole for stability when shoes don’t have a good heel counter. This means the foot won’t slip forward and bump the toes against the end of the shoe, irritating the skin and nails. To test for a good, solid counter, push down with your thumb onto the shoe backing and if the back just flops down then it’s not going to do a great job of supporting your child’s feet.  

A big toe box

Having a big roomy toe box means toes aren’t cramped up or being squeezed and gives plenty of room for growth, movement and supports a natural foot alignment. Check that the shape of the toe box is nice and round and that there’s plenty of room between the top of the toes and the top of the shoe.  

Double check the size

Always try both shoes on and feel around the toe space on both feet. For a majority of kids and adults alike, one foot is longer than the other, so shoe size should be measured from the longest foot. Try leaving a space the size of the tip of your index finger between the end of the toes and the end of the shoe. Check that the longest toe is the big toe too – for some people it’s the second toe! Bring a pair of socks and try the shoes on with the socks too to ensure they don’t make them too tight. Also, make sure that they’re wide enough and not rubbing against the inside or outside of the foot!

Choose laces or velcro

Compared to slip-ons, shoes with a fastening mechanism such as velcro or laces provide far greater stability and support for your kids’ feet. The more supportive and stable the shoe, the more control over the movement of the foot and ankle within the shoe to reduce the likelihood of injuries such as ankle sprains, as well as facilitate the healthy development of the bones, joints and muscles – and reduces the incidence of ingrown toenails!  

Buy shoes at the end of the day

Because our feet tend to swell toward the end of the day after walking around and in warmer temperatures, aim to purchase shoes and have that final size check in the afternoon as opposed to the morning. This means when the feet are that bit bigger at the end of the day, they won’t push against each other or the sides of the shoe and the nail won’t be pushed into the surrounding skin.  

If an ingrown toenail does develop….

Don’t worry, we can easily and simply treat it in our clinic. Bring your kids in, and within moments they’ll feel relief as we remove the offending nail spicule. If your kids are particularly sensitive, we also offer anaesthetic, though most people don’t need it.   You can book by calling us on 09 523 2333 or book online here   *who are they kidding, but we can’t actually say that.

Our Top 5 Ingrown Toenail Questions for 2018!

… Aaaand that’s a wrap for 2018! We’ve had a fantastic year and helped hundreds of patients with their ingrown toenails this year. So we thought we’d finish up by sharing the top FIVE questions, and comments, that we received when treating ingrown toenails this year. Here we go!

1. “I’ve been really careful when cutting my toenails, I don’t know why this has happened again”

Ohhh yes, there are many causes of ingrown toenails. An incorrect nail cutting technique is definitely one. This is when the nails are curved or cut down into the sides, or are ‘picked’ or pulled off instead of being cut with nail scissors or clippers. BUT there are plenty of others too that will have nothing to do with the way you cut your nails. These include regularly wearing tight or narrow footwear that pushes the toes together – and hence the skin into the nail. Genetic factors may also come into play, with the shape of the nail and/or skin predisposing you to getting ingrown toenails. It’s important to consider all of these factors when deciding on the best course of treatment for your feet.

2. “Is it infected?”

Is there a yellow-white discharge coming out of it? Is it red swollen? Is it bleeding? If you answered yes to any of these, then there is a chance that it is. Infections not only make things a lot more painful, but also dangerous too if the infection continues to grow. Without scaring you off too much, the big toe bone is pretty close to the surface of the skin. If a superficial infection were to get down and reach the bone, then things would turn very serious very quickly. The good news is that if you get your toenail sorted quickly after you notice the symptoms start, the chance of it getting serious is minimal – also because your podiatrist will be able to assess the situation and take the appropriate action. So don’t worry! But do get it seen and treated.

3. “How long before the pain goes?”

If we’re managing it conservatively by removing the nail spicule from the nail, then the pain should ease pretty immediately! You’ll feel an instant relief once the nail spicule is out, which will be noticeable when you push down on the skin and nail. The area will still be tender while it settles down and heals, but we’d expect that to go by one to two days tops – unless it was quite severe to begin with. If you’re getting an ingrown toenail surgery, you may experience some post-surgical discomfort for days following the procedure, but it’s nothing that can’t be handled with some painkillers at worst (most people don’t need them).

4. “If I have the surgery, will my nail look funny? Will only half of it be left?”

Absolutely not. We only remove just as much as we need to to get the best outcome for you – with the painful nail spicule gone and no new nail coming back in that area. Often, we take as little as 3mm of nail – which is barely noticeable once it heals and the skin closes in. Think of it like a tooth extraction- initially there’s a gap in the gums but then it closes in and looks perfectly normal.

5. “Is it going to come back?”

If you get it removed conservatively – without permanently destroying the nail growing cells in the side of the nail – then maybe. It absolutely can. Or you may get lucky and it won’t. They key here is that it can. If you have a partial nail avulsion (PNA) with a chemical matrixectomy, then no. Unless the body heals itself and restores the nail growing cells in the corner of your nail, which happens in approximately 20{b6e5f00fb20603d91e0eda9e5a923147a5347bc67df2eafaea32baa070f26b9a} of people. Unfortunately, that’s up to your body and its reparative response and is completely out of our control. But for most people, once the nail growing cells are destroyed, they can no longer grow new nail, and BAM. No more pesky ingrown toenails. That’s it from us! If you’ve got an ingrown toenail and want to be first on our list to get it fixed in the new year, use our online booking form here. Have a lovely Christmas and stay safe!!

Shoes & Ingrown Toenails – What’s The Link?

If you aren’t already aware: tight, narrow and poorly-fitting footwear is a major cause of ingrown toenails for young and old alike. Other major causes include:
  • Improper nail cutting technique (curving the sides of the nail or ‘picking’ the nails off instead of cutting them
  • Genetic predisposition (the shape of the toenail or the thickness of the skin surrounding the nail)
  • Damage to the nail (dropping something on the nail or stubbing your toe)

But WHY and HOW do shoes cause ingrown toenails?

It’s pretty simple really: 1. Your foot and toes are crammed into a shoe that is too tight or narrow 2. The pressure on the side of your big toe pushes the skin on the sides of the nail into the nail 3. The close proximity of the skin and nails means that the nail pierces the skin 4. Ouch! Pain, swelling, redness (and sometimes a little bleeding) 5. The swelling means that the nail and skin are now in even closer proximity and the nail will continue to push into the skin 6. As long as there is the ‘cut’ (open wound), the toe is vulnerable to infection 7. An infection will cause further swelling and pain, making it even worse 8. The cut where the nail pierced the skin will not be able to heal until the nail is no longer present in the skin

Makes sense, right?

Now let’s quickly touch back on all-important point number 8. If any part of the nail continues to penetrate the nail – or even move inside when you take a step and push your toes against the ground – then it won’t be able to heal or ‘go away its own’. That’s why it’s so important to have the nail effectively treated to make sure the nail spicule is removed so that the healing process can begin. Until the wound closes, it stays vulnerable to picking up an infection which is a big no-no and can put you at risk of serious (and painful) complications.

Let us help you!

This is where we come in! We’ll remove your painful nail spicule, look at what the cause of your ingrown toenail was and how we can get it to not come back in the future. Yay! We see so many ingrown toenails every day that this has become our specialty and we make the process as easy and stress-free as possible. You can get in touch with our team by calling 09 523 2333. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have. You can also book in online by clicking here. And in the meantime, if you’re prone to getting ingrown toenails, please be mindful of wearing tight, narrow or ill-fitting footwear and just stay clear of it!             – The Auckland Ingrown Toenail Team

Are Your Kids Getting One Ingrown Toenail After The Other?

If the phrase “Mum, my toe hurts” is one that you’ve heard a few too many times now, then this is for you. Today we’re talking ingrown toenails and kids! As many kids tell us when they come into the clinic, having an ingrown toenail “sucks”. It’s red, painful, swollen, it can have pus (exudate) down the infected nail edge – and it can make walking around, particularly in certain tighter-fitting shoes, very painful. While we have a number of treatment options available to treat and alleviate the pain from ingrown toenails when they arise, there is definitely one thing that’s even better – stopping them from occurring in the first place!

But what causes ingrown toenails?

Well, generally speaking, ingrown toenails can be a result of:
  • Improper nail cutting technique
  • Curving the nails or cutting down the sides
  • Tight footwear
  • The shape of the nail
  • Medical conditions or trauma to the toes/nails
  • Genetic predisposition

But the MAIN cause that we see in KIDS (high school and under) is…

Picking the nails! That’s when the long nails are ‘pulled’ off instead of being cut off. While all too common for kids to do, this method can leave small ‘spikes’ in the nail, particularly down the side of the nail where they can’t see. This small spicule (the sharp bit) can penetrate the surrounding skin as the nail continues to grow and just like that you have an ingrown toenail! Our professional recommendation is to not pick at the nail and to stick to the simple cut and file, making sure to cut in a straight line across the nail and not down the sides. When an ingrown toenail does develop, however, we’re here to help! We can instantly and conservatively remove the painful nail spicule, or we can perform a minor procedure to permanently correct the ingrown toenail and stop it from coming back. To book an appointment with our ingrown toenail experts, use our online booking form or give us a call on 09 523 2333.

Ingrown Toenails: Why it’s time to throw out the home remedies!

We have the pleasure of seeing and treating a lot of ingrown toenails. That’s not sarcastic at all – successfully treating ingrown toenails provides an immense amount of relief to suffering patients and using our skills to do this successfully is something we’re very proud of. There’s a common theme to many of the first visits we have with our patients, however, that we thought we’d shed some light on in case you happen to find yourself in this boat too. This theme is the I-googled-it-so-it-must-work home remedies for ingrown toenails. Now, don’t get us wrong. Some of the strategies you try may well alleviate your pain and have you feeling much better. There’s almost always a catch though: It’s temporary.

Repeated ingrown toenail occurrence

The unfortunate truth is that if you’ve suffered from the terrible pains of ingrown toenails more than once, the reality is that you’re almost definitely going to suffer from them again. One-off ingrown toenails absolutely do occur, but the cause is usually a particular pair of tight shoes that push the nail into the skin and they don’t tend to occur again after you’ve stopped wearing them. Repetitive ingrown toenails are the best indicator that there’s something going on, that the nail has now started growing in an abnormal way that ends up penetrating the skin, and that it’s going to continue to happen.

So, why advise against home remedies?

The first reason is that without knowing exactly what you’re doing, you could be further encouraging the nail to continue to grow in a way that will cause you a tremendous amount of pain. Take the way your nail is cut, for example. If you think that cutting down into the corner and removing the piece of nail will discourage it from growing there again – the reality is the exact opposite. Curving down and removing that painful nail edge will likely encourage the nail to keep curving a growing down – unless you know what you’re doing and understand the characteristics of nail growth. The second reason is that as health professionals, we don’t want you to suffer with ongoing pain. Experiencing pain every 3 months from an ingrown toenail isn’t a great solution in our opinion, and especially not when you can have a one-time permanent procedure that will have you saying goodbye to ingrown toenails for good.

So, what is this procedure?

The procedure we’re talking about is called a partial nail avulsion (PNA). It involves removing a small part of the nail (the part that causes you pain!) and applying a chemical that will stop that small portion of nail from growing back and continuing to cause you grief, over and over again. We love this procedure because:
  • It’s done simply and effectively in-clinic
  • It’s completed in 60 minutes (with the procedure time typically around 20 minutes)
  • It’s performed under local anaesthetic so is pain-free
  • You do not need to take any additional time off work/school following the procedure & can go home immediately
  • You don’t need any special boots or braces while the toe heals
  • The procedure causes very little post-procedure discomfort
  • We dress your toe, provide you with a take-home dressing pack & re-dressing instructions
  • We monitor your progress to ensure it’s healing well
While we perform conservative one-off care for first-time ingrown toenails or those with a definitive cause that is not likely to recur, the PNA is our best recommendation for those that are repetitively putting up with and suffering from ingrown toenails. We have tremendous success with the procedure and have prevented hundreds of patients from continuing to regularly suffer. Our team are experts when it comes to ingrown toenails and we love seeing the difference that having this procedure makes in the lives of our patients. For more information about the PNA procedure, click here. To book an appointment, you can give us a call on 09 523 2333 or book online.