Minimally Invasive Surgery for Treatment of Ingrown Toenail Using Electric Soldering Iron for Partial Matricectomy

Background: When the edge of the nail plate punctures the periungual dermis, a common and frequently excruciating nail disease known as ingrown toenail develops. It is sometimes referred to as unguis incarnates or onychocryptosis (derived from the Greek terms onyx-nail and crypto-secret). Aim and objectives: To evaluate the use of electric soldering iron instead of monopolar diathermy as a minimally invasive surgery for partial mastoidectomy in the treatment of ingrown toenails. Patients and methods: In Al-Azhar University Hospitals (AL-Hussein and Bab-Elshaaria University Hospitals), 80 patients receiving therapy for ingrown toenails participated in this prospective, randomized study, which ran from September 2023 to March 2024. The individuals were categorized into Group A (Soldering Iron Group), including 40 patients undergoing partial nail plate and matrix excision using electric soldering iron. Group B (Zadik's Group) includes 40 patients undergoing wedge excision of ingrown toenails using Zadik's procedure. Results: Matricectomy using the electric soldering iron is better than Zadik՚s procedure regarding operative time, amount of blood loss, postoperative pain, return to daily activity, cost-effectiveness, and recurrence rate. Conclusion: Partial nail plate removal in combination with mastoidectomy using electric soldiering iron is a very good method in the treatment of grades (II) and (III) ingrown toenails according to Heifetz's classification.