Plantar Wart Surgery

Wart is a small, rough tumor, that appears like a solid blister or cauliflower. There are different types of warts, such as, flat warts, genital warts, mosaic warts, and plantar warts, etc., that occur due to various reasons. The plantar wart is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), that can infect the stratified epithelium of the skin or mucous membranes, and is also known as plantar wart, when it appears on the plantar area, such as foot. The medical term for plantar warts is Verruca plantaris. It generally appears on the soles or toes of the feet. This viral skin infection is highly contagious and the virus can incubate up to 20 months, before the warts actually appear. It also disappears easily with treatment and can recur if not treated properly. Plantar warts appear on foot and while walking, they are pushed inside which is why they grow inward. Generally, plantar warts are a harmless skin growth caused by a virus. In some cases, it can be tender and painful. In such situations, surgery can help you get rid of plantar warts.

Plantar Warts - Causes and Treatments

Most of the people acquire plantar wart virus, when they come in direct contact with it. The virus can spread through sharing of towels, handkerchiefs, bed sheets, shoes, sandals, and socks, etc., with an infected person. HPV generally grows in damp and humid places, so if you walk barefoot in such places, you are most likely to acquire the virus. The virus can easily enter the inner layer of the foot skin, through small openings and tiny cuts on the feet. Plantar warts do not affect everyone and the reason for this has still not been discovered. Dry and cracked feet and a weak immune system increase the chances of getting infected with HPV and can be considered as some of the prime causes of plantar warts.

Plantar warts can be treated at home with certain home remedies or by using anti wart creams, that you can apply on your own. Salicylic acid, is one of the anti-wart drugs, that is available over the counter. All you have to do is apply the acid on the infected area and remove the dead skin. Duct tape wart removal is also useful, where you need to paste the duct tape on the affected area for a few weeks. As it is wrapped tightly around the wart, the virus cannot spread further and the growth of the existing virus is curbed. Apart from this, there are many natural remedies for plantar warts, such as aloe vera, herbal oils and herbal pastes made from various medicated herbs. When the home remedies and other plantar wart treatments do not work for you, you can resort to surgery.

Surgery to Remove Plantar Warts

Plantar wart treatment surgery generally gives better results than home remedies. The surgery also takes less time and is very effective. Among all the solutions, surgery is the most effective, as it removes the wart, reducing the pain. But the cost of the surgery is high and depends on which surgical method you choose. The type, location, and size of the wart also determine the surgical method to be used. And each method determines the pain after the surgery. Doctors prefer a surgery, that has minimum chances of causing injury and scars on the skin. Following are few popular plantar wart surgeries used for wart cure.

Laser Surgery: In this surgical method, the wart is burned using a strong and focused beam of light. It is a surgical method that guarantees less scars on the skin after treatment. You may have to pay a few visits to the clinic and this treatment can be quite expensive. The pain after the treatment is almost negligible but you may feel some amount of redness or swelling on the skin for a few days.

Electro Surgery: This method involves burning of the wart with the use of electric current. For this process, you may have to pay frequent visits to the clinic depending on the size of the wart. Smaller the size, lesser the visits. This method too is known to leave less and mild scars after the treatment. The pain subsides after some time.

Curettage: This method involves, cutting the wart with a sterilized sharp knife. As this method involves cutting the wart from skin, it may cause a significant amount of pain, during and after the treatment. The pain may persist till the wound is healed completely. This method is relatively cheap, as cutting the wart requires only one session.

Cryotherapy: This is another method, in which the wart is frozen with liquid nitrogen. This acts similar to duct tape. It prevents the virus from spreading and also kills the existing virus. This treatment is considered painless and does not leave scars. It takes 3-4 weeks to remove the wart but if the wart is bigger in size, it may take more time.

However, plantar wart surgery does not kill or destroy the virus, it just removes the wart. So think carefully before going for a surgery. Surgical treatments can leave scars on the skin. The recovery time also differs with each method. So, you must consider important factors, such as, the recovery time, pain, cost of the surgery, and scarring before opting for any surgery. Once you remove the wart, follow the prescribed preventive measures to avoid infection in future.

To reduce your chances of getting infected with plantar warts, take some simple precautions like wearing shoes to public places and drying your feet clean after swimming or bathing in public bath rooms. In case of a wart infection, visit the doctor immediately. The earlier you take action, the better it is, for you as well as those around you. Surgery and wart cures are always an option, but it is best to prevent wart infection by avoiding exposure to HPV and maintaining cleanliness and hygiene. Keep your feet happy...forever.