Nail surgery

Competence in nail surgery requires a full understanding of the anatomy and structural relationship of the parts of the nail unit. A further facility to delineate the nail components allows the dermatosurgeon to approach the nail unit surgically and to correct any of its parts. This review has been an attempt to introduce the principles of nail surgery and analyze in depth four office nail surgical techniques. The techniques of nail plate avulsion, nail bed and matrix biopsy, matricectomy, and lateral wall excision are the most commonly used surgical modalities of the nail. These four techniques will give the dermatosurgeon the tools to treat most surgical nail problems.