Phenol-alcohol technique for correction of infected ingrown toenail

Abstract

July/August 2007 • Vol 97 • No 4 • Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association Celebrating100years of continuous publication:1907–2007 Dockery,1 Dagnall,2 and Heifetz3 provided excellent literature reviews of the phenol-alcohol procedure for the permanent repair of ingrown toenails. As it turns out, the procedure was first reported in 1901 by Boer War military surgeon Capt. F. J. W. Porter, who credited it to his superior, Maj. C. J. Holmes.4 Milestone papers “introducing” and explaining the procedure came from Boll5 and Nyman.6 Since Nyman’s 1956 publication, the phenol-alcohol procedure has been embraced by the podiatric community and, until recently, largely ignored by the general medical community, including dermatologists. The only modifications of the procedure revolved around duration of the chemical applications and the topical agents used to enhance postoperative healing. The safety of the procedure in diabetic patients was subsequently demonstrated.7 The significance of Jeffrey Yale’s 1974 article is that it is the first one to document application and outcomes of the phenol-alcohol procedure. Although Yale states that he is presenting a “statistical analysis” of 50 cases, he performs no calculations to produce such a result. However, he candidly presents his data to validate the efficacy of the procedure. It is a challenge to the members of the podiatric profession to document the results of their surgeries and make them evidence-based. For this reason, Yale’s work is a seminal contribution in the history of the Journal.