What’s new in Ingrown nail care?
PodMED Podiatry leads the way!
1) Conservative ingrown toenail removal with numbing cream.
Even painful ingrowing nails can be quickly and painlessly removed by a highly skilled Podiatrist. How do we do it and why are our Podiatrists so good at it? Well, removing tens of thousands of ingrown toe nails without the need for an anesthetic needle counts for something! Our Podiatrists are extremely experienced and skilled and our conservative removal of ingrown toe nails is always our preferred option. Our local General Practitioners and Medical specialists rely on us for our great work in this space. Removing an ingrown nail this way is not something anyone can do. Most of our clients avoid surgical removal and anesthetic needles if we can fix the ingrown nail before it’s interfered with outside our practice. Treating at home is painful and dangerous. Why do you think our local General Practitioners and Medical Specialist ask us to do this for them? Because we are very good at it and take pride in a long track record of great results. Topical anesthetic cream is freely available to help soothe and numb a sore ingrown nail site before conservative care is undertaken.
2) Nail Bracing.
A new and non-surgical intervention step.
Nail Bracing is a safe and effective treatment option that provides a great NEW treatment option to help patients avoid surgical intervention. It requires NO anaesthetic, requires NO recovery period, offers immediate pain relief, and allows the quick resumption of exercise and daily activities.
It is also ideal for those with Diabetes or Peripheral Vascular Disease.
Similar to the bracing of teeth used in orthodontics, nail bracing aims to permanently change the position of the nail for better shape, appearance and pain relief. Pain free application of brace, non-invasive, no local anaesthetic required, No interference with everyday life, work or most sports. It is ideal for peripheral vascular disease or diabetics.
3) Ingrown Nail Surgery
When conservative measures won’t do. Minimally invasive and permanent removal of painful ingrown nails.
At PodMED Podiatry, we use minimally invasive surgical techniques that have been shown to achieve a permanent resolution of ingrown toenails in up to 98.5% of cases. Surgery is recommended when an ingrown toenail repeatedly becomes painful or infected, and when other conservative treatments have proved unsuccessful. The most common procedure we perform, a Partial Nail Avulsion (PNA), involves the painless removal of the offending portion of the nail. In most cases, a chemical (phenol) is used to help with preventing regrowth of the removed section of nail.
THE 8 NEW & IMPROVED STEPS.
1. A chronic ingrown toenail condition that would benefit from nail surgery is identified.
2. For comfort, we offer needle free local anesthetic to numb the skin prior to injection. One-Two small injections of local anesthetic are given to the toe.
3. Once the toe is numb, an elastic tourniquet is placed around the base of the toe to manage any bleeding. The toe is prepped with an antiseptic and a periosteal elevator is used to separate the small section of nail to be removed.
Specialized clippers are used to isolate a segment of nail that determines the new width/shape of the nail.
4. A very thin flat bottomed beaver blade is used to finish the cut started by the clippers. This eliminates the need for any suturing. The tool can finish cutting the nail to the base (under the skin).
5. Forceps are used to remove the problematic section of nail. The base of the nail section is checked to make sure the matrix has been removed – this is an important step in the prevention of regrowth.
6. A chemical called phenol is used to help in the prevention of nail regrowth. Phenol also helps minimize any post-operative discomfort.
7. The tourniquet is removed and a sterile surgical dressing is applied to the toe. The toe needs to be re-dressed until it has completely healed.
8. Once healed, we're left with a slightly narrower aesthetically pleasing nail. We no longer need to remove large portions of nail making. The newer procedure is less invasive with no skin flaps or stitching, is relatively painless post op, very fast recovery time, little post inconvenience as comfortable shoes can be worn the same day.
*Prior to recommending surgery, our Podiatrists conduct a full NVA/ABI & assessment of the ingrown toenail condition. We discuss any factors with the patient and Doctors that may affect the suitability of the procedure. For the vast majority of those suffering from nasty ingrown toenails, surgery is a good, safe, easy and painless procedure these days. The steps involved during a Partial Nail Avulsion with chemical ablation of the nail matrix are displayed below.
Item codes and costs
F104 - Peripheral Circulation Study (Including Doppler Ultrasound) - No Charge
F546 - Partial Nail Avulsion (single edge) Local anaesthetic gel initially numbs the skin prior to applying a small Local anaesthetic injection to ensure a pain free procedure. Nail root and matrix resection with phenolisation of the matrix - $650
(2-3 follow up appointments are booked free of charge to ensure the best results).
*F548 - Partial Nail Avulsion (each additional egde) If more than one side of the same nail requires surgery the additional edge is - $300
The surgery takes 45 - 60mins and patients can walk straight out of the clinic afterwards. Your 2-3 free of charge follow appointments are provided by your attending Podiatrist. All dressings and paddings are included.
In rare cases, it may be recommended that the entire nail be removed - this is called a total nail avulsion and is usually reserved for significantly deformed or problematic nails.