I had a review with the podiatrist this afternoon. The good news is that the big toe on my left foot has recovered nicely after the ingrown bit was removed. I was somewhat surprised to see the second toe on my right foot was inflamed though when I took my sock off for her to check my feet. She’s cleaned it up and put some inodine in it for a few days.
Meanwhile we discussed options for sorting my big toes. Having spoken to the resident consultant, they’ve ruled out doing a chemical burn treatment to stop the nail growing back after they’ve removed part of it. Apparently it increases the risk of infection and surgeons often won’t operate for up to a year (electively) in case any infection spreads to the surgery site. Given that I might need further surgery on my spine, they feel it’s not worth risking delaying that. The alternative is therefore to have the nail bed surgically removed. Recovery for the toe is only a couple of weeks instead of 6-8 weeks, and it doesn’t carry the same risk of infection longer term. I am therefore to be referred to the SGH to see if they feel surgery is appropriate.