A sixty-one year old white female was referred to the Dermatology Department to treat an ingrown nail in the inner corner of the left hallux. Examination of the entire nail unit showed the presence of xanthonychia in the outer corner besides thickening and increase in the transverse curvature of the nail plate. Dermoscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance of the free edge of the nail plate detecte...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients undergoing surgical nail avulsion. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Two dermatology centres in Hong Kong. PATIENTS A total of 32 patients with nail diseases who underwent 33 nail avulsion procedures were reviewed from case records. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Age, gender, co-morbidities, disease duration,...

OBJECTIVE In developing countries, tibial shaft fractures are frequently stabilised using Surgical Implant Generation Network (SIGN) nails. Despite widespread use throughout the world, little is known regarding their biomechanical properties. This study aimed to compare the mechanical stiffness of the SIGN tibial nail with a standard hollow tibial nail. METHODS A fracture gap model was create...

Onychocryptosis (onyx: nail and kriptos: hidden) is the main reason for consultation due to nail pain. It is secondary to the penetration of the lateral border of the nail plate into the lateral nail fold causing pain and inflammation in the surrounding tissue. Symptoms range from erythema, edema, and pain when pressure is applied on the nail fold, up to secondary infection and functional impot...

Nail changes are present in about 50% of psoriasis patients and tend to be refractory to conventional treatments. Pulsed dye laser has emerged as an alternative therapy. Our aim is to evaluate the efficacy of pulsed dye laser in nail psoriasis and the impact of treatment on quality of life. Fourteen patients were treated in monthly sessions for three months. The outcome assesment was made by th...

BACKGROUND Histologic examination of nail clippings with periodic acid-Schiff staining is the most sensitive diagnostic test for onychomycosis; however, difficulties in processing nail plates limit its use. In onychomycosis, fungi are most concentrated in the subungual hyperkeratosis rather than in the nail plate. We hypothesized that the diagnosis of onychomycosis could be effectively made fro...

A53-year-old woman presented to the office with a complaint of severe bilateral thumb nail pain and deformity (Fig. 1). She denied previous trauma to the thumb nails and had no history of previous bacterial or fungal infections of the nails. Based on the curvature of the nails, which increased from proximal to distal, a diagnosis of bilateral thumb pincer-nail deformity was made. The patient wa...

Brittle Nails Syndrome is characterized by fragility of the nail plate, affecting 27% of women. We evaluated dermatology patients in a cross-sectional study about perception of nail fragility. One hundred and thirty eight women were included, with median age of 36.5 years. Nail examination showed changes in 57% and 49% reported nail fragility. The first three fingernails were the most affected....

The scarcity of specific submission protocols for nail unit biopsies presents many challenges for appropriate specimen processing. Many nail biopsies are received fragmented or without orientation, often resulting in less-than-ideal tissue embedding and poor histologic sections, which are difficult to interpret. Methods are described for proper nail matrix/bed biopsy and plate submission that i...

A case of nail gun injury is reported. Preoperative radiographs are essential to determine whether copper barbs project from the nail shaft before any attempt is made to remove the nail. Thorough exploration is required.