Ok this is kind of gross, sorry.

Since my first pregnancy the toenail on my big toe keeps getting ingrown and I've had to be on antibiotics twice because of infection. I've finally agreed to have it fixed.

I talked to the doctor last night and he said they have to remove the nail but that it will grow back. Has anyone had this done? Did you're nail grow back properly? How much did it hurt? How long did it take to get your nail back?

I want my nail back by summer and I have two options for an appointment Feb. 13 or Mar. 6. I didn't want to do Feb. 13 because of Valentines but DH won't be here anyway, he's traveling. He said wait til March because I'll be hobbling around and he won't be here to help me, but I don't want to wait too long as I don't want an ugly nail all summer as I never wear shoes in the summer.

Does it really hurt that much?

By Debbie on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 08:29 am:

My dh had to have surgery for an ingrown nail. It did grow back the same as it was before. Now, I don't know how long it took, I don't remember. I know that it was painful for a few days and he couldn't wear a shoe. He was in one of those open hospital slipper things.

By Vicki on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 08:31 am:

It will take a long time for it to fully grow back in. I lost a big toe nail once after stubbing it badly and I remember it took many months for it to grow back all the way.

By Bemerry84 on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 08:40 am:

My mom had her toe nail removed because of the same thing and it never did grow back. I remember her painting over the skin just as if there was a nail there. Hope all goes well for you.

By Kaye on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 09:10 am:

My hubby had this done. They did not remove the whole nail, just about 1/4 of the side that it was growing in on. He had it done this summer (august i think). It is all the way back in now. However it is having issues again, I guess oemtimes when it grows back it doesn't fix all the way, the doc warned him to watch it close and maybe come back and have it done one more time.

He wasn't really hobbling for long, it was sore for a day, then only if it got touched. He said YES it does hurt

By Karen~moderator on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 11:04 am:

If you have a nail removed, it will take between 9 and 12 months for it to FULLY grow back.

By Groovepickle on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 11:33 am:

Ouch!!!!! In China I learned that you could make a V shaped cut in the center of your toe nail to relieve pressure. I have had two ingrown toe nails since then and have tried the method and it has worked great. My toe nails have not been to the point of infection but have been painful enough that I couldn't wear shoes and went to the Dr. It's worth a try in the meantime while you're deciding about the surgery. Looks something like this --v--.
Groove

By Heaventree on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 11:33 am:

9 TO 12 MONTHS!!!! Is there any other way to fix this?

I lost my thumbnail once, cat bit me, I don't remember it taking that long, but I think our finger nails grow faster than our toe nails. Maybe I should rethink this.

By Heaventree on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 11:36 am:

Alyassa, we posted at the same time.

I might try that I guess it can't hurt at this point. I did hear somewhere that, that method doesn't work, but you said it worked for you so I'll give it a try.

By Karen~moderator on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 11:36 am:

Cori, I'm only going on my own experience and that of a couple of others I know who lost toenails. It took mine between 11 & 12 months to grow back completely, looking like a normal nail.

By Crystal915 on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 01:21 pm:

Shane had his nail removed because he needed stitches underneath it. It was in Aug 2002, and slowly started growing back, but **still** doesn't look normal. It's short on the nail bed (about half the length of his other toenail), and is thick and uneven. He also gets smelly residue under it. My cousin had surgery for ingrown nails, and they just trimmed an edge ofthe nail off, and cauterized it to make sure it didn't grow back ingrown again. I'd get a podiatrists opinion before going to removal.

By Dawnk777 on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 05:32 pm:

When the docs fix ingrown toenails, where I work, they just cut out a small part of the nail. They don't usually remove the whole thing! It does take a few months to grow back, though.

By Groovepickle on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 06:28 pm:

It worked for me but your case sounds a little more severe.