The comparison of electrocautery and curettage of the nailbed for the treatment of ingrown toenail

The ingrown toenail is a condition of the active young population that often seriously impairs the patient’s comfort, causing distress to walk, which is seen in the second and the third decades. We aimed to compare two different treatment techniques for that disease. A total of 80 patients who underwent surgery, using the Winograd technique, due to an ingrown toenail were included. The mean age of the patients was 29 (21-44) years. There were 32 female (40.0%), and 48 male (60.0%) patients. The patients were divided into two groups: Group 1 (n=40) is consisted of patients in whom electrocautery was applied during the surgery, whereas curettage was done in Group II (n = 40). Recurrence and infection rates were compared. The statistical analysis revealed no significant difference between the two groups in terms of recurrence, and infection rates (p> 0.005). Our results showed that there is no superiority of one of these methods to the other in terms of the recurrence, and infection rates.