“I need to undergo a nail removal treatment. Will anesthesia have to be administered for this?”
I had an accident wherein a suitcase fell on my big toe and the nail is chipped in half. It was bleeding a lot and the doctor has advised to get the nail removed to prevent any infection. Will this removal be under anesthesia?
10 Answers
Could be local anesthesia, which would make it easier on you
This is a procedure that commonly is done in the office with local anesthesia.
Recommend sedation with local block performed by your podiatrist
For this type of procedure, some local anesthesia is almost always used. Depending on the amount of time and extent of the removal, intravenous sedation or a general anesthetic may also be appropriate. Toes can be quickly anesthetized with a 'digital block' where local anesthetic is injected on both sides of the affected toe. This may involve only a few seconds of discomfort before the toe gets numb.
Toenail surgery can be done with local anesthesia in your podiatrist's office, or with supplemental sedation and IV analgesia by an anesthesiologist in the operating room.
Hi,
You will need local anesthesia injected to help numb your toe for the procedure. Whether you need additional medication orally or intravenously for sedation, it’s up to you or your physician performing the procedure.
Dr Ketch
You will need local anesthesia injected to help numb your toe for the procedure. Whether you need additional medication orally or intravenously for sedation, it’s up to you or your physician performing the procedure.
Dr Ketch
Yes. Local with IV sedation or General Anesthesia
In most cases such as this, local/regional anesthesia with Lidocaine or Marcaine (similar to that used by dentists) can be given to provide anesthesia to the area for removal.
First of all, if you have a foot injury, I would make sure to have the opinion of an orthopedist, who specializes in foot and ankle surgery or a podiatrist take a look at your problem. A chipped nail may not need to be removed. With this said, if you choose to have the nail removed, I would suspect that you will need anesthesia as it would otherwise potentially be a painful procedure. I do not really have enough details to give a complete answer. If the toe is the issue, you should be able to have a local anesthetic injection to numb the toe. You should not need a general anesthetic, however, the injections can be briefly uncomfortable as they are injections.
Most likely this will be done under local anesthesia, meaning the doctor will numb the area around the nail. If the procedure is more involved it may require intravenous sedation
