To all of those discussing the viability of this treatment method,
Last year I smashed my toe in an unfortunate masturbatory incident, causing a severe subungual hematoma (lots of blood under the nail); the pressure was intense and the pain was so bad that even dosed up on Vicodin, I left work to go to the hospital... After waiting for an hour or two in extreme pain, they took me back and performed this operation on me. It's called "Lancing" and it's been practiced for quite a while. It was completely painless, apart from the fact that the dull pressing pain became sharper as it ebbed out the hole in my toenail, heartbeat by heartbeat.
... The sucky part is, they only made a very small hole and I have a nearly X-factor level of healing, so it clotted quickly and the pain resumed, and intensified, and I had to go back in; this time I waited for like FIVE hours, and they punched 3 gigantic holes in my toenail with a heated filament. It bled nicely, and I didn't have any problems after that.
Long and disgusting story shot; people do this, on the professional and amateur scale, and it works quite well when you do it right. And it hurts a LOT less than holding onto that hematoma.
Also, pictures of the nail before, during and after are available on request.