Case Study: Painful Deformed Toenail
Presented by: Dr John Negrine
History: A 25 year old lady presents with a painful deformed right great toenail. She denies any history of trauma. The problem has been coming on over the last 2 years.
In that time she has seen her podiatrist who felt that she likely had a fungal infection. Topical fungal treatments did not solve the problem. She was then referred to a dermatologist who took an xray and made the diagnosis.
Diagnosis: The patient has a subungual exostosis. This is a not uncommon condition of uncertain aetiology. The diagnosis is readily made by taking an xray.
Treatment: The treatment is surgical excision. The recurrence rate is low but the patient must be warned that disturbance of nail growth may occur following excision.