A simple and practical method in treatment of ingrown nails: splinting by flexible tube.

BACKGROUND: The ingrown nail (or onychocryptosis) is a common problem that occurs mostly in the big toe and causes high amounts of morbidity in affected patients. Many therapeutic methods have been described, most of them leading to severe damage to the nail or to frequent relapses. The nail splinting technique is a successful, simple and non-invasive therapeutic method for treating ingrown nails.

OBJECTIVE: To determine efficacy of the plastic tube insertion technique in patients with ingrown toenail and its use as a standard treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We encountered 32 cases (age range 9-67 years) of ingrown toenails in this clinical trial. All of the patients were treated using the plastic nail tube insertion technique for 7 to 15 days. Patients were examined daily for the first 3 days of treatment and were evaluated 3 and 6 months after treatment. All patients were followed up by a single observer.

RESULTS: Recurrence was seen in only two patients after 6 months of treatment (6.25%).

CONCLUSION: The low recurrence rate using the nail splinting technique in the treatment of ingrown toenail, as well as its simple application, shows that this treatment constitutes an effective, non-invasive method. It appears that this technique can substitute other more invasive surgical methods, particularly in the early stages of this disease.