Surgery For Chronic Ingrown ToeNail

Ingrown toenails are not only painful but can lead to toe amputations in diabetics or even life threatening blood infections that can land you in the ICU or worse.    Those are extreme cases but an ingrown toenail can harbor severe bacterial infections that can lead to bone infection.    The bone is very close to the surface and once bacteria touches the bone then it is treated as a bone infection.


Ingrown nails show a 50% hereditary factor.   If it runs in your family you may want to consider a permanent side removal as shown above.  Local anesthesia is administered, the offending nail is removed then a chemical  NaOH or Phenol is used to "kill" the root aka matrix.

Often people do not realize that podiatrists can do such services for you.   If you have an ingrown nail see a podiatrist.   While antibiotics will calm the infection down, the removal of the offending border can often times negate the need for oral antibiotics.