Contents

Hook nail

Hook nail is a bowing of the nail bed due to a lack of support from the short bony phalanx (fingertip).^[1]: 660

The nail plate has volar concavity and a longitudinal hypercurvature. The patient may report discomfort, aesthetic impairment, and functional disability.^[2]

Hook nail is caused by trauma to the hyponychium.^[2] Hook nail is often seen after a fingertip amputation.^[3]

Some publications propose shortening the nail bed to the end of the bony support if it continues past the limit of the severed distal phalanx in order to prevent deformity.^[4] Treatments intended to preserve length, such as replantation or flap reconstruction, should be used if the damage to the bone and soft tissue beneath the nail bed is too great.^[5][6]

Surgical options for hook-nail deformity include nail excision or finger shortening; alternatively, soft tissue reconstruction, bone grafting, nail recession, or partial toe transfer may be used to try to add some support to the nail bed.^[3]

• Half and half nails
• List of cutaneous conditions

• Dumontier, C.; Gilbert, A.; Tubiana, R. (1995). "Hook-Nail Deformity: Surgical treatment with a homodigital advancement flap". Journal of Hand Surgery. 20 (6): 830–835. doi:10.1016/S0266-7681(95)80057-3. ISSN 0266-7681. PMID 8770751.
• Strick, M. J.; Bremner-Smith, A. T.; Tonkin, M. A. (2004). "Antenna Procedure for the Correction of Hook Nail Deformity". Journal of Hand Surgery. 29 (1): 3–7. doi:10.1016/j.jhsb.2003.08.007. ISSN 0266-7681. PMID 14734059.