Hi my big toenails are both brown the rest use to be a normal colour they turned brown one day and I got a fungal nail infection treatment I’ve tried it for the amount of weeks it says on the box but two weeks later I looked at my nails again it’s now affecting all of my nails I thought it was athletes foot or something because the treatment isn’t working took antibiotics they also didn’t seem to work not been to the doctors because of the pandemic and I’m worried of the outcome 

Hello All,

This forum has been a good source of information for myself so i wanted to update with my experience in the hope it will give more information on the whole process. 

I found a greyish 3mm wide line on my large toenail in November 2020. I am of mixed race heritage, early 30's and my mother has had melanoma so i knew i could be of increased risk of Subungual Melanoma. I went to the GP and he suggested it could be a Subungual Haematoma and to wait 4-6 weeks to see if it had grown out. I wasn't happy to do this so paid to see a private dermatologist. He reviewed it and said it was a benign longitudinal melanonychia and to get it reviewed again in 3 months. 

I moved areas and went to see another dermatologist 3.5 months later. This dermatologist was concerned as i only had the line on my one toe nail and due to my family history, so i was reffered back to the NHS under the TWW scheme. 

I was seen 1 week later, that dermatologist was also sure it was benign but having read the experience of people on these forums i pressed for a biopsy to be completed as i know this is the only 100% way to confirm this so he agreed.

I had my operation pencilled in the week after. This was then cancelled on the morning of the op because they couldn't find the correct equipment. It was then rescheduled for 2 weeks later and went ahead. Operation took about 45 minutes and was uncomfortable and quite a bit of bleeding. I recommend getting some strong painkillers as i was in quite a lot of pain for 4-5 days. I've only been able to properly start walking on my feet again 4 weeks later so it takes a long time to recover.  

I had to wait 4.5 weeks for results and they had to be sent off for supplimentary testing due to this being a toe nail biopsy which doesn't seem to be a common occurance at my hospital. My results have come back all fine. 

Hoping this provides a bit of insight on my experience and helps others know what to expect. Thanks Angie on this forum for helping to comfort people when needed!

Hi Angie,

Please may you post the link? 
 

I went to the GP regarding a sudden black mark on my big toenail and already have an appointment to see the dermatologist and she mentioned they may need a biospy and I would like to know what it entails  

TIA x

Hi 23Fab05

Thank you and I'm so glad that you pushed for a biopsy and it all came back clear. Thanks also for sharing your experience so those going through the same worries can see that not all nail problems are malignant. It's great when we get balanced posts to help new members. Take care,

Angie

Hi Eleanor27,

This is the link I previously referred to dermnetnz.org/.../

I hope it helps and that your appointment goes well. Good luck and please let us know how you get on,

Angie

Hi Angie thanks for the link - I have had a nail bed excision biopsy  on Monday just gone- just managing to hobble now - but still very swollen and sore - my experience has taken 3 weeks in total - I went to chemist with what I thought was a bruise on my big toe nail for over 12 months but have no knowledge of damage to it - chemist sent me to GP who referred me there and then to dermatologist I saw them 5 day's later and had surgery this week- have been told 3-4 weeks for results - counting the hours now 

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and my husband is having a thumb biopsy this week and had an x ray yesterday as the oncologist believes he may have subungual melanoma on his thumbnail. We haven't really been told what to expect from this biopsy, does anyone have any experience they can share about what it is they actually do, are they testing the nail bed? Also how long do results usually take to come back for an x ray and the biopsy?

His thumb nail is completely deformed, his skin is very sore around the thumb and his thumb joint is very swollen. He doesn't have any dark lines on his nail but I believe it could be SM even without this.

Its a very scary time and we are glad they have managed to book the thumb biopsy so quickly but it's also a little more scary as it makes us think there is something.

Thank you everyone.

Hi fozzy1234

Sorry you're going through this stressful time. In my experience they wanted to test the skin at the bottom of the nail, where the nail finishes. So they lifted the nail from the nail bed and took a biopsy from the skin at beneath the nail if that makes sense.

I didn't have an X-ray but my biopsy results took about 4 1/2 weeks to come back. It's a stressful wait but try and keep yourself distracted.

Hope you receive good news, good luck.

Hi 23Fab05,

Thank you very much for your reply and thank you for sharing your experience. I didn't realise it would be so long for the biopsy results to come back! I've read your earlier post and am really glad to hear yours came back all clear. Did they complete any further tests to find out what had caused the mark?

Thank you.

No sometimes I think it's just pigmentation that is "dumped" into the nail bed.

They didn't specify the tests completed just said that they needed to get it sent off for further testing as I think it's quite a rare occurrence.