Minor Surgery

At Podiatry at Tōtara we offer both Nail Surgery and Verruca Treatments that provide solutions to conditions that do not resolve with conservative treatments.

The most common examples of this we see in the clinic are persistent ingrown nails which are showing infection, granulation, or on-going pain and chronic verrucas which have failed to resolve with many of the conventional treatments such as cryotherapy or acids.

What to expect at your Nail Surgery Appointment? 
Nail surgery most commonly requires a partial removal of the side of the nail. In occasional circumstances a full removal of the nail may be required depending on the issue being dealt with. For comfort this is always done with the use of a local anaesthetic. 

Once the nail has been removed, a chemical is applied to stop part of the “nail matrix” growing back. The matrix is what controls the growth of the problem nail, and this is why a caustic is used to stop regrowth of a small portion of the problem nail. 

Your toe will be dressed, and we will talk you through the expectations of aftercare and when you need to come back for redressing. 
The appointment normally takes less than 60 minutes in most cases. The average complete healing time for nail surgery is between 3-6 weeks and in most cases, patients experience significant improvement in their pain straight away. 

What to expect from Multiple Puncture Technique? 

Multiple Puncture Technique / Faulkner’s Needling Technique involves treating verruca tissue with multiple, small incisions or “punctures” which break the verruca cells and encourage an immune response and resolution of the problem tissue over time. This, like nail surgery, is always performed with local anaesthetic. Depending on the volume of verruca tissue the appointment will take less than 60 minutes in most cases. Complete resolution time on average is 12-16 weeks and we commonly review the verrucae site over this period. 

It’s common for patients to feel a bit nervous before having minor surgery so we want to make it as easy and pleasant as possible. Our Podiatry at Tōtara clinic in Taupō offers a comfortable and friendly environment for this to happen. If there’s anything we can do to make it more comfortable, please just ask.