Background
Nailbed injuries are injuries to the fingernail, and the soft tissue below and around the fingernail. They can occur for a variety of reasons including trauma (sports injuries, door slams), cancer, infection, work-related injuries, or cysts/warts.
Treatment
Management depends very much upon the reason or cause of the injury.
Generally speaking, the nail may be removed, and the tissue beneath may be trimmed, cleaned, and repaired. The nail may be gently replaced within the nail fold. In some cases, a nail graft may be used from another finger or toe. In other cases, a synthetic nail may be placed temporarily to help with pain and to protect the injury site. In almost all of these cases, some type of fingertip protector splint will be custom-fabricated and placed on your finger until it heals.
A Vaseline-based or non-adherent dressing will be placed over the nailbed while it grows. Fingernails grow slowly and may take several months to fully grow. In the meantime, as soon as the pain has subsided, you should start moving the finger joints to prevent additional stiffness or other problems from developing.
