Does Ingrown Toenail Surgery Hurt?

As the dust settles on what was a brilliant Fathers Day spent with my wife, daughter and soon-to-be son, I can finally get back to talking about one of my favourite subjects, my ingrown toenail journey!

More specifically, the question: Does ingrown toenail surgery hurt? It’s a question I’ve been asked a lot since my first post. Luckily my wife redeemed herself for her rubbish shower idea with her expert re-dressing skills. The podiatry students were even giving her props!

I realise all these weeks on I’m still milking it a bit but I’ve been in and out of surgery my whole life. From hole-in-the-heart surgery to jaw re-alignment, I’ve been under the doctor’s knife more times than Mickey Rourke. So I went in to this with a laid back ‘worry about it when I get there’ mentality. I already knew they were administering anesthetic and wouldn’t be subjected to a Game of Thrones style flaying in the chair.

My relaxed approach was further bolstered by my Mam (the woman’s a saint!) taking me as I’d be unable to drive afterwards. When I was called in I reverted back to my childhood and, looking forlorn, I asked “Will you come in with me Mam?”. The room quickly filled with students ready to test their skills on their overgrown guinea pig (me) for the day.

I even asked for a pillow as I sat back in my chair and shut my eyes as if I’d just popped in for a spa treatment. One of the students notified me I may feel ‘mild discomfort’ as I noticed him wielding a 6-inch needle to stick in my big toe. The sudden panic forced me to put my hand on my Mams like that old fish fingers advert where the son says “It’s great to be home, Mum”

The pain of that needle going into the toes (they decided to do both big toes while I was there) is excruciating. I even had to clamp the Iron Claw on myself to stop myself from swearing in front of Mam.

To be fair, once the anesthetic kicked in the rest of the surgery was fine. Not for the squeamish although I ended up sitting up and watching the whole process like a creep.

If you have ingrown toenail surgery coming up, don’t worry about it. As painful as the painkiller is it’s worth it in the long run. The dressings are now off despite weeks of Ayla both trodding on them, using them as a joystick and me stubbing them off anywhere painful.

This is my first responsive post to a reader question and as the top ‘What-Not-To-Do’ guide I’d love to answer anymore questions you may have so leave them in the comments below or over on our social media channels.