Some toenail problems can be managed with regular conservative care, however, should these conditions become chronically painful, debilitating or frequently infected, nail surgery is often the best long term and permanent solution
Nail surgery can be performed by our podiatrists under local anaesthetic. It is a simple and painless procedure that generally takes under an hour. The nail bed is destroyed with a chemical known as phenol to prevent the problem from recurring in the future. We always strive to ensure that once fully healed the toenail is aesthetically appealing.

You require a pair of sandals or flip-flops following your surgery as the initial dressing is somewhat bulky. You should also ensure that you arrange for someone to take you home.

Following surgery we advise complete rest for 24 hours and, if necessary, take a non-aspirin-based pain killer, such as paracetamol.

You will have two redressing appointments, the first within 24 hours of the nail surgery and the second a week later. During the first you will be shown how to cleanse and redress your toe at home. During the second the podiatrist will ensure that the toe is healing normally and without complication. It is important that you attend these appointments.

If there are no complications it takes around four weeks for a partial toenail removal (PNA) to fully heal and six weeks for total toenail removal (TNA), providing that pressure to the area is minimised by wearing sandals or shoes with adequate depth and width in the toe box area and post operative infection does not occur.

There is a slight risk that nail regrowth may occur (around 5% chance) and require further surgical intervention.