[A comparative study of 2 treatment methods for onychocryptosis (ingrown toenail)]

One hundred and fifty-six patients, on whom 200 procedures for ingrowing toenails were performed, were randomly allocated into one or two treatment groups: segmental phenolization and wedge excision. There were 94 segmental phenolizations and 106 wedge excisions. Post-treatment discomfort was assessed on an analytical graph. There was a clear difference between the two groups one week after treatment. Over a mean follow-up period of 12 months a total of 27 nail spikes occurred, 8 in the phenolized group and 16 in the wedge excision group, this being not a significant difference at the five per cent level.