Ingrown Toenails – Austin Podiatry

Ingrown Toenails:  Ingrown toenails are one of the most common problems that podiatrists treat.  Under the care of a podaitrist, the procedure is COMPLETELY PAINLESS! Unfortunately, most people put off treatment until it beomes extremely painful and infected and then go to an emergency room where they are subject to the skills of an ER doctor that is not a specialist in this procedure.  One of the most common mistakes they make is not obtaining complete anesthesia of the toe which leads to all the horror stories that people experience or hear about. A podiatrist “numbs up” the toe by a virtually painless injection of anesthesia around the base of the toe near the foot using a very small 27gauge needle.  This is one of the smallest needles made.  Most emergency rooms only have the next largest needles(25 guage) which hurt more than the tiny 27 guage.  After complete anesthesia of the toe is obtained, the offending ingrown side of the nail is removed. At this point, the root or nail matrix can be killed with the application of three 30 second applications of a chemical called phenol under the cuticle area which kills the root in that area thus preventing regrowth.  One of the most common things my patient  say after the procedure is done is “That’s It??  If I had known it was this easy I would have done this a long time ago!” So don’t be afraid and call today to have your ingrown toenail taken care of at your convenience in a relaxed, comfortable office environment!