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pre-op advice


Notes:

It is best practice to discuss the procedure and give a patient information leaflet. The patient is asked to read this before the procedure and the surgeon’s day sheet is ticked that this has been given and read.
It is explained to the patient and family if the patient is an adolescent that the procedure is usually done under local anaesthetic and digital block. The patient is warned that the injection can sting and in fact can be very difficult to carry out a digital block on young adolescents, in this case sedation or admission for a General Anaesthetic may be required.
It is explained to the patient however that once the injection has been given there will be no pain with the procedure. This is essential. It is rare for a digital block not to work and one of the keys is to wait after the block has been given for 5-10 minutes then test. There are little tricks to ensure the digital block works, particularly where there is infection. The presence of infection the local anaesthetic may not work as well, these extra steps ensure success.
The patient should also be warned that the nail will be narrower. There is also the possibility of damage to the nail bed, and that a deformed nail may result, but this is uncommon. It is more common however where both sides are being done or complete with or without removing the nail bed. Most patients are not concerned regarding this, but wise to check beforehand. To avoid starting the procedure too quickly it is advised to leave the room for a few minutes and do something else.