Ingrown Nail Removal

When a nail becomes ingrown and starts to cause pain and at times infection, the best course of action is to have it removed.

Prior to the start of the video, the nail was cleaned with iodine to sterilize the surface bacteria (like wiping your boots before going inside so you don’t track mud in, we don’t want to push bacteria in). We then numb the toe with an injectable anesthesia which was Lidocaine in this case as it is quick acting. Once the toe is fully numb, what I was checking by poking the toe the with spatula, we proceed with the removal.

In order to only take the part of the nail that is causing issues we free the invading nail border with the spatula to make cutting it out less traumatizing to the rest of the nail. The lifted portion of the nail is then cut back all the way back to the root and removed from stem to stern to maximize the amount of time it will take to grow back. In most cases the removed nail piece will grow back in 9-12 months.

The patient will soak the toe in epsom salts for 5-7 days to finish cleaning out the infected border. Removing the nail and doing the soaks makes taking an oral antibiotic unnecessary in most cases.

To learn more about ingrowns causes, treatments, and alternatives see the more in depth post here