A case of congenital ectopic toenail

Abstract

A congenital ectopic nail is a rare anomaly and usually manifests itself as a small abnormal nail appearing alongside the normal nail. In most of the cases, abnormal nails have been found on the palmar surface of the fifth finger. The pathogenesis of the ectopic nail remains unclear. It has been postulated to be a kind of polydactyly or generation from stray germ cell or inoculation of the nail matrix after trauma. We observed a case of a 5-month-old boy with congenital ectopic toenail on the right second toe. The ectopic toenail was removed by surgical excision and the histopathological finding was consistent with ectopic toenail. We report a case of congenital ectopic toenail on the right second toe of a 5-month-old boy.