Damaged Toenails

Medical terminology: onychodystrophic/onychogryphotic toenail

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Unfortunately our toenails are just like any other tissue/organ in our body, if there is too much pressure or damage to them, they will adapt and change their structure. Pressure or trauma, which could be anything from tight fitting shoes, dropping something on your toe or even poor circulation to the toes, causes trauma to the toenail and your toenail responds by growing thicker or even grow detached from the nail bed. Once your toenail grows damaged and deformed , it will always this way, this is a permanent change.

How can you treat?

• Conservative treatment – the foot specialist will debride (file) your toenails to their normal flat level. Unfortunately, in a few weeks or months the toenail will become thick all over again so this needs to be repeated every few weeks/months.
• Nail reconstruction at Nails by Toe Bro Nail Salon – because some damaged toenails grow detached, after trimming the lifted portion of the toenail it may look abnormal to have shorter toenail. At our nail salon next door, we are able to apply a nail reconstruction treatment to create an aesthetically beautiful, full shaped, flat artificial toenail. This will create the appearance of a healthy toenail. It will need to be maintained every 3-6 months but creates a healthier, flatter normal shaped toenail.
• Surgical removal with nail correction system to potential create a new healthier toenail – some damaged toenails are able to repair themselves depending on the severity of nail damage. There is one possible last chance treatment to help create a healthier, attached toenail. This involves surgically removing the total toenail, which is performed under a local anesthetic so no discomfort is felt during the procedure, and apply the onyfix nail correction system on the new toenail. This system will hopefully allow the new toenail to grow fully attached to the new nail bed and create a flatter healthier toenail than before. The onyfix nail correction system takes roughly 8-12 months to work as it grows out with your new toenail.
• Permanent total nail removal – because the toenail is potentially permanently damaged, your only other option is to remove the toenail forever in our total nail removal procedure. Once your toe is numbed using a local anesthetic, the toenail is removed and an acid (Phenol) is applied to stop the nail cells from ever producing a toenail. This will eliminate the regrowth of the thickened toenail permanently.

Recommendation to prevent the issue:

• Avoid shoes that are too narrow tight or too small
• Tighten laces to prevent your foot from sliding in the shoe and banging your toes against the front of the shoe
• Try your best to avoid banging your toe or dropping something on your toe (unfortunately accidents happen!)