Removal of Toenails

Doctors recommend toenail removal, or excision, when a patient has repeated occurrences of ingrown toenail, or thickened toenail. Typically found in the big toe, treatment for both conditions are generally the same.

Significance

• An ingrown toenail happens when the ends of the nail are more round than normal allowing the nail to grow into the sides of the toe. When the nail punctures the skin, it can cause infection.

  A thickened nail grows from the nail bed and typically occurs when the nail bed is damaged. Damage to the nail bed is usually the result of another infection such as athlete's foot.

Types

• To remove an ingrown toenail the first step is to perform a ringblock, which involves applying a tourniquet to the toe and inserting a numbing agent. Once the numbing agent numbs the toe, the tourniquet is removed.

  The doctor will then cut the toe up to the nail bed, if the problem is recurrent the doctor may burn the nail bed with a chemical, this will prevent another occurrence of an ingrown toenail.

Benefits

• The removal of an ingrown toenail stops infection, and allows the nail to grow narrower than before, preventing another occurrence.

  After treatment for a thickened nail, the feeling of any pain disappears and new smooth skin grows where the nail used to be.