If ingrown toenails run in your family, and you get them repeatedly, you might want to consider a permanent fix, such as surgery, Dr. Campbell says. "When we say 'surgically,' that's foreboding, but it's just a very small removal of a very small portion of toenail, and killing the nail root cell," she says, adding that kids can have it done, too; it's really not a big deal. How it works is a podiatrist would take off a small edge of the toenail, and then cauterise the nail root cell where the cuticle is, so it can't grow back again, Dr. Campbell says: "The success rate is really high, and it provides a lifetime of relief of ingrown nails." Most people are surprised by how easy it is, and wish that they had done it sooner, she says.