Ingrown toenail (Onychocryptosis) is a very common problem, affecting mainly adolescents and young adults. The ingrown toenail is often responsible for disabling pain, and difficulty in walking. It is associated with significant morbidity, and negatively impacts the quality of life as it interferes with sporting activities, school or work.
Ingrown toenail primarily occurs in the great toe. It is often associated with poor trimming of the nails in combination with local pressure due to wearing poorly fitting too tight shoes; hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating); poor foot hygiene and nail abnormalities such as fungal infection. Pain, swelling and yellowing discharge are the main clinical features.
When conservative treatment fails, and in recurrent cases, surgical correction is the treatment of choice. There are various surgical techniques that are described in literature.
At Soho Men’s Health, we often perform excision of the ingrown nail and drainage of pus collection, a procedure called ‘lateral nail plate avulsion with lateral matricectomy’. This procedure has been to be the most effective in reducing recurrences.
