Ingrown Toenails

Toenail surgery is a minor surgical procedure that our podiatrists perform regularly under local anaesthesia, in our consultation rooms. Nail surgery can become necessary when an in-grown toenail repeatedly gets infected, is continually painful and it becomes painful to wear shoes and socks.

A ‘partial nail avulsion’, known as a PNA or a nail root and matrix resection, is a procedure which aims to permanently correct the tendency for a toenail to in-grow. The procedure is performed under local anaesthetic via injection into the toe, and takes approximately one hour.

Once the procedure is completed a thick, sterile surgical dressing will be applied by the podiatrist. Whilst you will be able to walk afterwards, we recommend that you have assistance getting home. Our podiatrist will have explained the post operative care of your toe/s including re-dressings at home for the following 4 to 6 weeks.

The primary objective of the surgery is to permanently remove the portion of the nail that is cutting into the surrounding soft tissue of the toe so that the offending section of nail does not re-grow. The specific nature of the surgery will depend on the severity of the in-grown toenail. All aspects of the surgery including operating time, amount of time to avoid weight bearing exercise and healing time, will be explained to you by your podiatrist. Regular visits to our podiatrist can help manage and prevent in-grown toenails, alleviate pain and keep you mobile. Click ‘here’ if you would like to see an example of an in-grown toenail.