Electrocautery with partial matrixectomy in comparison with partial matrixectomy alone in treatment of ingrown toenail

Background Ingrown toenail is a frequent health problem that is commonly seen in adults and young individuals and subsequently results in significant socioeconomic outcomes. The inflammation of toenail tissue is the most prevalent manifestation. Despite the existence of different therapeutic modalities, there is no consensus on the optimal management yet. Objective The aim was to assess the effectiveness of electrocautery after partial matrixectomy with partial matrixectomy alone in the management of ingrown toenails. Patients and methods The population of ingrown toenail cases was divided into two categories, with 100 patients in each one, who had partial matrixectomy at outpatient clinic of general surgery at Mansoura University Hospitals from October 2015 to October 2018. The recruited patients of the study had follow-up observation for 180 days at an outpatient department. Results All eligible patients were operated and got high rate of surgical success; however, 13 cases of recurrence were noticed within the follow-up observation, including eight cases in the group of partial matrixectomy alone and five ones in the other group. Conclusion A great difference in the surgical outcome was noticed between these two groups, indicating that matrix electrocautery is connected with less recurrence rate vs the partial matrixectomy alone, with shortened healing time for both.