I am guessing if you are reading this article that you recently underwent ingrown toenail surgery and are concerned about some problems you are experiencing. So I have written this article about some of the common problems that can occur with ingrown toenail surgery. But before we begin, 99% of ingrown toenail surgeries go without any problem and are as routine as routine gets. No, you will not lose your toe if it goes wrong, (unless you are a poorly controlled diabetic). And you need to have a Podiatrist do your ingrown toenail surgery, no other speciality of doctor. The fact is Podiatrists do ingrown toenails 4 times a day, while other doctors do one a month. Who do you think will do a better job?????????
Now onto the complications. Keep this in mind. It is normal to have pain for the first 48 to 72 hours after the surgery. If you are still in pain that is normal and not a complication.
One common complication is the Podiatrist does not get all the ingrown toenail. This happens occasionally. If a week later it still hurts the same as it did as before the surgery you might have an ingrown toenail still present in the toe that has to be removed. It sucks but it happens. Occasionally the toenail is wedged in deeper than the Podiatrist goes. It’s an honest mistake but it happens.
Post Op Infection- The fact is you saw the Podiatrist over an infection while removing the ingrown toenail will clear up the infection in 95% of cases. Occasionally your ingrown maybe infected with MRSA. Now a Podiatrist is not going to write you a prescription for a high powered antibiotic when you first do the surgery. So if you have an unsuaul or MRSA bacterial infection there is a chance that your post op site becomes infected. You will be able to tell this by redness showing up around the toenail. The treatment for this is simple. The Podiatrist writes you for a different antibiotic and you will be fine.
Phenol Burns- If you have the chemical matrixectomy, it is not unusual for some of the phenol or chemical to get on the big toe in other areas. The treatment for this is Silvadene Cream. The bad news about this is it may take up to week for the burn to go down, so you will have a persistent redness around the toe.
Reaction to the local anesthetic this is rare but occasionally people have a reaction to the local anesthetic. It almost causes the toe to become paralyzed for a period of time. The cure for this is just time. It takes time, relax and you will feel better soon enough.
Remember, ingrown toenail surgery is routine and you will probably most likely have smooth sailing with no problems.