Retrospective Comparison of Matricectomy and Electrocauterization in the Treatment of Ingrown Toenail

Abstract

Objective: Although ingrown toenails are a common health problem, there is no consensus about a standard first-choice treatment. Different non-surgical and surgical interventions for ingrown toenails are available. Our aim was to compare two surgical treatment methods for ingrown toenails; matricectomy with electrocauterization (ME) and surgical matricectomy (SM). Materials and Methods: A total of 111 patients with ingrown toenail were randomized into two groups: surgical matricectomy and matricectomy with electrocauterization. All cases were evaluated 1 day, 1 week, 3 and 6 months after treatment. Recurrence rates, visual analog scale (VAS) scores were compared. Results: Postoperative 1st day mean VAS score in ME group was higher than SM group (1.94 vs 0.93), but there was no difference in 8th day VAS scores. The mean recurrence rate was higher in ME group compared to SM group (33.9% vs 1.7%). Conclusions: SM is more effective method compared to ME method in terms of postoperative pain and recurrence in the treatment of ingrown toenail.

Keywords

• matricectomy
• ingrown toenail
• treatment
• tırnak batması
• matrisektomi
• tedavi