The management of ingrown toenails with soft tissue/periungual resection without nail resection or matricectomy: A scoping review

Background: Most authors cite that an ingrown toenail is caused by an ingress of the nail plate into the periungual soft tissues, though a minority of authors believe that soft tissue pathology is primarily responsible. Consequently, when nail surgery is indicated, there is a dichotomy in the treatment approach aimed at either nail/nail matrix resection or soft tissue debridement.

Aim: The aim of this research is to collate, code and chart data regarding ingrown toenails managed with soft tissue procedures - without nail or nail matrix resection.

Methods: A scoping review of the literature on soft tissue resection techniques for the management of ingrown toenails without nail or nail matrix resection was carried out using current scoping review practice and PRISMA-ScR guidelines.

Results: 25 articles were included in the review. Most of these papers were case studies or case series. Multiple surgical techniques were found but with no clear best technique identified due to low-quality research using heterogeneous methodologies.

Conclusions: The evidence for the soft tissue management of ingrown nails is lacking in quality but warrants further consideration. High quality, perspective studies need to be performed to be eligible for future Cochrane reviews.