What is Toenail Reconstruction?

Today’s topic is toenail reconstruction, and I have been in quite a lot of these lately and it’s quite an interesting aspect of our work here in the podiatry clinic as it’s a little bit different, it’s more cosmetic, rather than clinical if you like.

So what is toenail reconstruction? It is, it’s almost like a gel, which we cure under a UV light. So we build it up in multiple layers on people who have got deformed toenails or lost part of their toenails and they want to have a toenail in place to paint or for protection on the nail bed, and it’s specifically for toenails so it’s a little bit flexible. It’s not like acrylics that you use on fingernails at all.

So who is it suitable for? Well, anybody really who has got a problem toenail. So you might have had nail surgery in the past, so you don’t have much toenail left, and you want to build it up slightly. You might have had a fungal infection and so you might have crumbled away slightly. It might be deformed or thickened through trauma. Basically, if your nails not looking as you want it to look for the summer or for any time really, we can build it back up to make it look like a normal nail. The one key thing that you do need is something for it to adhere to. So it won’t work very well on people who’ve only got just skin on the nail bed. If you’ve got any nail at all or any rough callused skin, something for it to adhere to, then it will work.

Okay, you can paint it, you can cut it, you can file it like any normal nail. But as your nail grows, it will grow up and out with it and it will come slightly loose. We say generally that it will last for six to eight weeks. We don’t advise soaking it in baths for a long time because it tends to, the water gets kind of trapped underneath and it tends to loosen it off slightly. Showers are better, and not too much trauma from sports or bad footwear. If you adhere to all that it should last a good six to eight weeks, maybe more, and then we just take off and replace it if you want another one. It also protects the nail underneath if it’s damaged while that grows out as well so it’s quite good for just keeping that in check and giving it a protective layer just on top of the damage nail like that.

So that’s it really it’s a harmless treatment, it doesn’t take long. It’s a half an hour appointment for one toenail or an hour for two. If you want to book in just ring us on 01372 464659 or you can email us at [email protected] and we will get you booked in. You can also look at the website www.surreyfootservice.co.uk and the blog that will go with this post for before and after pics so you can see examples.