Laser Wart Treatment
What are warts?
Warts are benign (non-cancerous) growths that develop on skin and mucosa. They are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and affect at least 10% of the world'‘s population.
HPV enters skin through small cuts or injuries.
HPV is contagious and is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact or through indirect contact using towels or razors that are contaminated with HPV.
There are well over 100 strains of HPV, but only a few cause warts on certain parts of the body. Warts treated at Midwest Laser centre include:
Plantar warts - typically on feet (often flat and grow inward; can have black dots).
Mosaic warts - small, white and the size of a pinhead, typically on the balls of the feet or under toes; typically flatter that plantar warts.
Flat warts - develop anywhere on the body and are typically smoother than other warts. They may show up in larger numbers.
Filiform warts - look like long threads or fingers and often occur on the face.
Treatment of warts:
Warts may disappear untreated, but can take up to two years to heal. Because warts can spread, potentially cause pain (plantar warts on feet can cause discomfort while walking), and affect self-esteem. There are treatment options.
Over-the-counter treatments:
Salicylic acid applied daily for several months
At home cryotherapy kits applied daily or every few days for weeks to
months
Success rate ~50 to 60% with consistent treatment
Medical in-office treatments:
Prescription strength acids applied every few weeks requiring multiple
treatments
Cryotherapy every 2 weeks for multiple treatments
Success rates ~50 to 70% with many treatments
Prescription treatments:
Immunotherapy topical treatment
5-fluorouracil topical treatment
Success rates ~60%
Laser treatments:
Pulsed dye laser (PDL) treatments are an option for treating warts, especially those that have not responded to other treatment methods.
Multiple treatments (3 to 4 on average) are required; they work by targeting blood vessels within the wart, causing death of the wart tissue.
Clinical studies show up to 95% clearing of warts with multiple treatments, but some studies show clearing of only 50-60% with recalcitrant warts (those present for a long time and that have failed multiple other treatments).
At Midwest Laser Centre CO2 Laser Ablation may be recommended for some warts, for example facial warts (filiform) due to the nature of their projection from the skin. The physician will discuss use of this ablative laser on a case by case basis.
