Toenail problem

[coopertown]

About a year ago I was walking my dog ( then a puppy) when he got frightened by some kids riding their bikes, he snatched away from me (unexpected) and dumb me let go of his leash, somehow along his way running back to our home he torn is back toenail. My husband and I took him to the nearest 24hr animal hospital and they trimmed it to the quik and wrapped it with quik stop, since then the nail has grown back but crooked and began to bleed under or behind the nail. I took him to the vet and they said it was still attached but then 2 days later he was running in the yard chasing his tennis ball and the nail was gone. It fell off, so it has grown back again and starting to bleed some behind, is their a way to just have it removed? I know it must be painful for him and I don't want him to suffer every few months.

[Dr. Carol Osborne, DVM]

Hello- A cost effective alternative to the above mentioned therapies is to clean the area with betadine scrub, rinse with water and pay dry then apply 7% iodine with a q tip carefully to the area without the nail and cover with a piece of gauze and vetwrap. Then recheck this twice a week and re-apply the iodine each time for up to 3 times. An alternative to 7% iodine is a strong tincture of tea.
Thank you
Dr Carol Osborne, DVM

[skydnsr]

First of all, I'm not a doctor.  I had a similar problem with my own thumbnail after I accidentally smashed it in a car door.  I went to a hand surgeon, and he removed the whole nail under anaesthesia so the new nail could grow back in evenly.  Everything was fine after that.  The surgeon said this sometimes happens after an injury, that the new nail will grow in deformed if the nail bed is not cleaned up surgically.

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

A consult with an veterinary orthopedic surgeon and X-Rays of the foot are probably necessary.  If the affected nail is not a dew claw, than surgery to remove this nail is involved, and may require amputation of the digit up to the first joint.