Effectiveness of hyaluronic acid in post-surgical cures following partial matricectomies with the phenol/alcohol technique: A randomized clinical trial

Post-operative cures with hyaluronic acid (HA) could potentially shorten the period recovery involved in the phenol technique for ingrown toenail. The aim of this study was therefore to compare a standard healing protocol with the experimental one based on hyaluronic acid cream. 70 patients who had undergone phenol technique surgery for ingrown toenail were divided into two groups – control (n = 35) who received post-operative cures following the standard protocol with povidone iodine gel, and experimental (n = 35) who received cures with HA in the first 3 visits. Bleeding, total healing time, and perceived pain were assessed. Patients in the control group recovered from the intervention in a total of 26.17 ± 7.75 days, while those in the HA group recovered in a significantly shorter time – 22.42 ± 2.41 days (p = 0.007, effect size 0.653). However, there were no between-group statistical differences in bleeding or perceived pain over the course of the post-surgery visits. The use of low molecular weight hyaluronic acid is effective in reducing the phenol-technique healing time by 4 days compared with the standard cure. However, no extra effects such as reductions in bleeding or perceived pain can be expected in choosing this healing protocol. •Drugs with HA promote tissue regeneration and wound healing.•Post-operative cures with HA may reduce the recovery period in phenol technique.•Patients cured with HA recovered from the intervention 4 days before than controls.•However, no effects in bleeding or perceived pain can be expected using HA creams.