As a guy, I really don’t have any use for my toenails, and rather than spend the rest of my life having to trim the things, I’m wondering if I couldn’t have them surgically removed so that I didn’t have to bother with trimming them. I can’t imagine that there’d be any ill effects, other than making my toes look funny, but I doubt I’ll be dating a foot fetishist any time soon, so the squick factor shouldn’t be that big of a deal.
So, could they be surgically removed? Would there be any danger if I did so? And about how much would this set me back (seeing as how insurance probably wouldn’t cover such a thing)?
I don’t know if it’s possible to completly remove the “roots” of the nails - where the new nail is produced. Removing the toenails itself can be done surgically - I had that done as a young teenager (too tight shoes when mountaineering - blood under the nails - remove nails for drainage - walk around on my heels for about 4 weeks till they had regrown = not a lot of fun)
I’m sure the resident doctors and nurses can explain far, far better (and hopefully in gruesome detail - paging gabriela) what problems you can encounter, regarding infections in your nail bed. Not to mention that it hurts when any pressure comes onto the soft tissue.
In other words: why do you think the nails are there? They protect the nail bed. Removing that protection doesn’t sound like a good idea.
What “use” do girls have for toenails? Do you mean painting toenails in nice colors brings any benefit when getting yourself a nice boyfriend? (“Hey, you look ugly as hell, but your toenails have a nice color, so I would like to sleep with you”). Not that even every girl does it… Or do you think girls use this to swing from branch to branch and get a better grip?
The 13 year old daughter is facing removal of both of her big toe nails due to painful recurring ingrown toenails. She has to have them cut out regularly and the doctor has recommended they be removed. Last I heard it had not been done yet - I will ask when I see her and her mother tonight.
It is possible - they remove the nail surgically and then paint on a chemical that retards growth - retards, notice. Sometimes it prevents it, but sometimes it just grows back really slowly. (This information from my son’s podiatrist, we’re facing a similar case as SnakesCatLady.)
But the hardest part is finding a doctor who would be willing to perform surgery for no reason. “I don’t like cutting my toenails” is probably not a good enough reason to risk infection - infection post-surgery if not later.)
By the way, while the toenail removal itself is painless, the nerve block they do to your toe is excruciating, according to my son. A series of half a dozen or more injections of ouchy burning stuff all the way around each toe is required. This is a kid who’s been through a spinal fusion and rib removal, and he says the ring block for his toe is worse.
I had ingrowing toenails for years as a teen. After having them removed every 6-9 months they finally removed the root on one toe. The nail hasn’t grown back apart from a little sliver in the corner that they must have missed. Eventually your skin hardens and you can cope with people stepping on your toes. But they will be as sensitive as hell for about 12-18 months.
My mom had the nails of her big toes removed, due to fungus. My late mother-in-law actually had all her toenails removed. Patients who have one or two nails removed (including the tissue that grows them) almost never have any more done. The recovery is quite painful. The hospital where my MIL had hers done still shows her as the only patient who has ever had the whole set taken out in that hospital. :eek:
There are effective therapies now for nail fungus, so it is rarely necessary to have any toenails surgically removed.
I’ve had mine removed several times. The doctor burned the nail beds twice with silver nitrate, once with phenol, and then the last time I just cut them out myself and cauterized 'em with red hot coathanger.
.
They still grow back, but now they’re mutated and grow about 1/3" thick. They’re non-killable. Someday when I lie submerged below the grass, someone will pass by and wonder what those strange rocks growing out of my grave might be.
,
But I’m an extreme case. Lesson learned : If you want the planet’s ugliest toes, do what I did. Otherwise, maybe you should consider the natural look.
An old girlfriend of mine, who grew up in Wales, had her ingrown big toenail permanently cured by the removal of part of the toe, leaving her with 9 1/2 toes. I thought it was sexy as hell.
Another reason to remove toenails is damaged toes that cause the toenails to grow in bad shapes.
I had to have both my great toenails removed. If done properly, they do not usually grow back. Mine did not grow back. I have damaged the bone on another toes and if it does not get straightened out, it is coming off too.
For enough $$ I am sure you can get it done but the pain of doing it, recovering from it, the pain of bumping it or getting it stepped on for years to come is not so cool. I suggest that unless the pain of keeping them is worse that the pain of having them removed, leave’em be.
At the beach or pool you may get so ‘oogy’ looks, there is always someone …
One nail bed that was done about 20 years ago is still very sensitive to something sharp dropping on it that would not hurt other toes. If it falls right into the center of the old mail bed scare… OUCH !!!
On the other hand, chronic pain is no fun, ask those of us that have to live it.
Get a girl friend to trim you nails and give you a foot rub once a week. Much better decision IMO.
- paging gabriela) what problems you can encounter, regarding infections in your nail bed. Not to mention that it hurts when any pressure comes onto the soft tissue.
