Presentation and management outcome of ingrown toenail partial nail removal with matricectomy versus total nail removal with matricectomy.

Abstract

Objective To document the clinical presentation of ingrown toenail (IGTN) and evaluate the outcome of management with partial nail removal (PNR) with matricectomy versus total nail removal (TNR) with matricectomy in terms of pain relief, patient satisfaction, wound healing time, and the rate of recurrence at one year follow up.

Methodology: This comparative study included patients of all genders and ages who presented with IGTN in Heifitz stage II and III. Half of them were randomly assigned to the partial nail removal (PNR) with matricectomy (group A) and half to the total nail removal (TNR) with matricectomy (group B).

Results: There was a total of 42 patients with 73.80% males. The age ranged from 18 years to 45 years. The site of involvement was the right big toe among (n=23;54.76%) patients, whereas the left big toe was affected among (n=9; 21.42%). Ten patients (23.80%) had simultaneous involvement of both toes. Among the potential contributing factors for the disease that were assessed, 21(50%) patients had history of excessive trimming of the lateral nail plates, 8(19.04%) patients had history of using constricting footwear, 7(16.66%) patients had history of trauma to the big toe, and 2(4.76%) patients had pincer nail deformity. The remainder 4 (9.52%) patients had no known underlying risk factor for developing IGTN. Overall, the patients of PNR group had better results when compared with the TNR group.

Conclusion: Superior results were observed among patients who underwent PNR with matricectomy in terms of pain relief, patient satisfaction, wound healing time, and the rate of recurrence at one year follow up.