What is an Ingrown Toenail?
An ingrown toenail occurs when the edge of the nail grows into the surrounding skin, leading to pain, redness, swelling, and sometimes infection. This condition often affects the big toe and can be caused by improper nail trimming, wearing tight shoes, injury, or genetic predisposition. Treatment may involve soaking the foot, proper nail trimming, wearing comfortable shoes, and surgery to remove part of the nail or the surrounding tissue in severe cases.
What do we do
If the conservative treatment fails, a Surgical treatment called wedge resection is performed under local anaesthesia. The toe is numbed with a local anesthetic to prevent pain during the procedure.
The doctor will carefully lift the edge of the ingrown nail and cut away the ingrown part of the nail along the edge. In some cases, a portion of the nail bed or nail matrix (where the nail grows from) may also be removed to prevent the ingrown nail from recurring. The toe is then dressed with a sterile dressing and changed after one week. The recovery time is usually one week.
Post-op care:
- Keep the surgical site clean and dry.
- Rest for a day after surgery.
- Take pain medication as prescribed by your doctor to manage any discomfort.
- Attend all follow-up appointments with your doctor to monitor your healing progress.
Who is doing this, and where?
Most of our doctors perform this surgery at all clinics. Please call our reception staff to check availability or send an email to the address provided below.
Charges:
In addition to the Medicare rebate, a gap of $250 is payable on the day of surgery. Once you pay the total amount, our staff will assist you in getting the Medicare rebate back to your account via Easyclaim.
Referrals:
GPs and allied health can refer your client to us by emailing or faxing the details at:
Email- specialists@solitaire.team
Fax- 08 8263 1519
Healthlink referral- modnthmc