Ingrown toenails occur when the side of the nail grows into the surrounding skin, causes pain, tenderness and swelling. The area can also become infected.

Ingrown toenails are very common and can occur in any toe. The big toe is most commonly affected.

For most clients a simple procedure can relieve the pain from ingrown toenails without the need for surgery.

However, if ingrown toenails are recurrent, your Podiatrist may recommend Ingrown Toenail Surgery as a permanent solution.

This minor surgical procedure involves the removal of a small part of the side of the nail, followed by the application of a chemical which prevents that small section of the nail from regrowing.

The procedure is performed at our Foot Faults clinics, and takes approximately one hour.

$525 for a single ingrown nail side. Additional fees apply for extra sides, extra toes or whole nail removal. A $150 non-refundable deposit is due when surgery is booked.

Ingrown Toenail Surgery is not offered during an initial appointment, but may be recommended following an assessment of your ingrown nail, by one of our expert Podiatrists.

It depends on your level of cover but Foot Faults is a Preferred Provider for Medibank, Bupa and HCF, which means members enjoy larger rebates +/- discounted fees on their appointments and services.

Please contact the team for the item numbers and prices.

Most Podiatry appointments are not eligible for Medicare rebates.

If you have an eligible Medicare Referral however, this can be used as a part-payment for Ingrown Toenail Surgery.

Yes! Payment plans are available for clients who do not have private health cover for Podiatry.

The Ingrown Toenail Surgery is paid off in regular instalments over a 6-week period.

A GP referral is not required for Podiatry appointments.

If you think you may be eligible for a GP Chronic Disease Referral, please visit your GP prior to your appointment.

We use a local anaesthetic to completely numb the toe and ensure a pain-free procedure.

The local anaesthetic can cause a brief stinging sensation.

The method used by our expert Podiatrists has been shown in studies to be the most effective, with a more than 95% success rate. More information is available from the references below.

NAIL SURGERY REFERENCES

1.Talwar, P. (213). A study on the surgical treatment of ingrowing toe nail with nail excision with chemical matricectomy versus nail excision alone. Nasza Dermatologia Online, 4(1), 32–34. https://doi.org/10.7241/ourd.20131.06 98% effective

2. Chemical matricectomy with phenol for the treatment of ingrowing toenail: a review of the literature and follow-up of 172 treated patients.S Bostanci, P Ekmekçi… - Acta dermato …, 2001 - search.ebscohost.com 98% effective

3.Shaikh FM, Jafri M, Giri SK, Keane R. Efficacy of wedge resection with phenolization in the treatment of ingrowing toenails. J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 2008;98:118–22. 99% effective

4.Bos AM, van Tilburg MW, van Sorge AA, Klinkenbijl JH. Randomized clinical trial of surgical technique and local antibiotics for ingrowing toenail. J Br Surg 2007;94:292–96. Search PubMed showed partial nail avulsion with phenolization gave better results than partial avulsion with matrix excision. Local antibiotics did not reduce signs of infection or recurrence. Use of phenol did not produce more signs of infection than matrix excision.

5.Vaccari S, Dika E, Balestri R, Rech G, Piraccini BM, Fanti PA. Partial excision of matrix and phenolic ablation for the treatment of ingrowing toenail: A 36-month follow-up of 197 treated patients. Dermatol Surg 2010;36:1288–93. Succes rate of 98.5%