WHAT TO EXPECT ON THE DAY OF SURGERY:
Planning ahead:
On the day of your surgery wear comfortable shoes and bring a pair of flip flops or sandals that you can wear after the procedure, as you will have a dressing on the toe you had surgery on.
If you are planning on coming with the car, have someone with you that can drive.
If you are working, try to take the day off, as you will need to keep the foot rested and elevated after surgery.
Please download, print and fill in our Consent Form to save time on the day of surgery.
Surgery procedure:
Before surgery we will give you a local anaesthetic to numb the toe and we will proceed with the removal: after numbing the toe, you won't feel a thing!
Some people find it useful to bring a book to read or an iPod to listen to some music, a good distraction :)
Once the surgery is over, the toe will be dressed and advice will be given.
An appointment will be made for two days after the surgery (three if it's on a Friday), and a dressing pack will be provided to you, both appointment and dressings arefree of charge.
Benefits of nail surgery:
We offer fast- track appointments for our patients undergoing nail surgery.
It will put an end to a recurrent problem: as phenol will be used to prevent the re-growth of the nail (which has 99% success rate), nail surgery is the ultimate solution to a painful problem.
Pain free procedure, once local anaesthetic is applied.
Minimal time off work or school.
Fasting not necessary before surgery.
It will prevent recurrent infection on the site of surgery, preventing future complications.
Caring for your wound:
Do not remove the dressing that your Podiatrist has applied after surgery and DON NOT get it wet. The Podiatrist will change it during your follow-up appointment.
After your first follow-up appointment, you will be required to apply a clean dressing every day for the first week, then about three times a week. Change your dressing if it gets wet or dirty.
You will need to re-dress your toe until the wound is completely healed and dried.
ONCE YOU HAVE STARTED DRESSING THE WOUND YOURSELF, change the dressing AFTER having a bath or shower, to prevent soap going onto the wound.
Salt baths: Once you have started dressing the wound yourself, you can have foot salt baths before applying a clean dressing:
- the water must not exceed 30 Degrees Celsius
- Add 2 tbsp of salt to each pint of water, in a CLEAN bowl.
- Soak your foot for about 2 minutes, after removing the dressing.
- Over the next few weeks, as the wound will heal and become drier, you will notice less discharge on the dressings. When there will be no visible discharge on the dressings you can stop applying new dressings and having foot salt baths. Come and see us if you have any doubts.
Signs to look out for after surgery:
Phone us if any of the following happen:
- The surgery site becomes unbearably painful.
- The foot becomes swollen, hot and red, or any of these.
- You develop a fever or feel a sense of malaise.
If this happens at the week end, phone NHS 24 or go to your nearest A&E.