Total nail ablation for onychodystrophy with optimized gauze–phenol application

Abstract

Background Nail disorders are frequent among the geriatric population and unfortunately, repeat avulsionprocedures often result in complications.Objective To utilize a phenol-based total matricectomy technique for permanent nail ablation and evaluate itseffectiveness.Methods We performed total nail ablation on 34 toenails of the hallux (30 patients) with a gauze–phenolapplication technique and evaluated the degree of pain reported by the patient 12 months postoperatively comparedwith the preoperative stage. Furthermore, we evaluated the patients’ satisfaction with the final cosmetic appearanceas well as their satisfaction with the overall procedure.Results All patients reported ‘too much’ or ‘severe’ pain prior to surgery and 94.11% reported ‘no pain’ 12 monthspost-surgery. A vast majority of the patients (82.35%) felt pleased with the cosmetic results and all patients reportedthat they were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘strongly satisfied’ with the procedure when interviewed at their 12 month follow-upexamination.Limitations There were a limited number of participants in this study across an extensive timeframe.Conclusion Phenol-based total nail ablation with specific gauze application is safe, inexpensive and has a highrate of patient satisfaction.