Diseases and deformities of the foot / by John Joseph Nutt.

  • Nutt, John Joseph, 1870-
Date:
1913
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Diseases and deformities of the foot / by John Joseph Nutt. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    tion caused by the pressure of the side of the nail. This last may be done by pressing a little piece of cotton with a probe or an orange wood stick or a pointed match under the edge of the nail and between it and the swollen parts. The soft parts may be further relieved by draw- ing them away from the nail with a narrow strip of adhesive plaster encircling the toe. When conservative treatment is undertaken the patient should be instructed to trim the nail straight across and not to cut down the corner or inner edge. Radical treatment consists in the removal of the sharp edge of the nail. About a third of the nail should be taken off together with that part of the matrix and the swollen soft part. It can readily be done under a local anesthetic. A rubber tube is first fastened about the base of the toe and cocaine, if that is used, is injected around the nail. The first thrust of the needle should, cause all the pain there is to bear. The incision should be elliptical, including all that is to be removed. Horse hair sutures are the best for closing the wound. The edges will not be brought close together; but there will be less surface to granulate, the time of healing will be shortened; and the co-aptation of the V-shaped de- pression left in the soft parts by the removal of the exuberant tissue will the better insure a rapid cure. Should the toe be acutely inflamed and very painful it may be better to defer operation until the condition has been rendered less acute by a few days' treatment with rest and wet dressings.