Nail Surgery
Feet, and especially toenails whilst providing a good job in protecting the toe, are also delicate and susceptible to damage. Damaging a toe nail can be extremely painful as can ingrown toenails.
An ingrown toenail is caused by the toenail becoming more rounded than usual and pressing on the skin, putting pressure on the skin folds in the process. This can cause pain and swelling as-well as infection. Improper trimming or the nail is a large factor in the cause of an ingrown toenail but they can also be caused through injury, tearing of the nail or deformity. Visiting a chiropodist can help to treat ingrown toenail in many cases but in some worse off cases it may be that you are referred for nail surgery.
Ingrown nail surgery
Having nail surgery can be done privately or on the NHS depending on your situation and circumstances. Surgeons will examine the ingrown toenail and come up with the most suitable way to repair the toe. This may require part or the whole of the nail to be removed. In most cases it is that just part of the nail is removed. This is done by taking away strips of the nail at the nail bed and near to the skin folds, basically removing the part of the nail has ingrown. Nail surgery although relatively straight forward can me that you are unable to put pressure on the toe for a little while afterwards.
Thickened nail
A thickened toenail is another problem that may require nail surgery; this is caused by damage to the nail bed from where the nail grows. It is generally caused by a long term infection problem such as athlete's foot. The problem with a thickened nail is that the damage is permanent and only gets worse this is reason nail surgery is needed. Adults with a thickened nail can become subject to overgrowth of bone or a tumour in the skin under the nail.
Thickened nail surgery
The removal of a thickened nail requires that the whole of the nail and nail bed be removed; this is done with the help of special chemicals. If the bone underneath the nail has become over grown, once the nail is removed the bone will be shaved away to leave it in proportion, this will enable the nail to regrow normally.
If the reason for surgery is due to a tumour then the nail will be removed. After this is done the tumour will also be removed and taken away for further examination. This will determine the reason for the tumour; it is often that it is a result of poor circulation of the blood flow. If this is the case then extra surgery will be performed to treat and improve the blood flow to reduce the risk of anything similar happening to the nail in the future.
For any nail that you feel may require surgery it is always to see a doctor, chiropodist or podiatrist first.