Overview

A nail avulsion or partial nail avulsion involves the removal of the nail or –in the case of a partial nail avulsion– part of the nail. Often a nail avulsion is used to treat an ingrown toenail. For our nail avulsions we prefer to use a technique called phenolisation. We use phenolisation because the procedure has a very low rate of infection yet still dramatically lowers the chances of having a recurring ingrown toenail.

Indications

Nail avulsions or partial nail avulsions as mentioned above are most often used to treat ingrown toenails. If conservative efforts made to treat an ingrown toenail fail then a nail avulsion or partial nail avulsion is typically recommended.

How it works

A nail avulsion or partial nail avulsion using phenolisation is a fairly minor surgical procedure. It involves either trimming the nail on both sides digging into the skin (partial nail avulsion) or removing the entire nail. Once the desired portion of the nail is removed phenol is applied to the nail bed. Phenol is a weak acid that is capable of killing the nail matrix. When the nail matrix is removed no nail growth can occur because the nail matrix is responsible for nail growth. After the toe has healed from surgery there is often minimal scarring.