Verrucas

A verruca (plantar wart) is a wart on the sole of the foot. It is the same as a common wart, but the weight of the body presses it into the foot, which can be painful.

Verrucas are slightly raised and circular in shape, with a thickened rim of surrounding skin. The surface may have black dots (‘pepper-pot’ appearance). There may be several verrucas or just one.

Sometimes verrucas form clusters of small warts, called ‘mosaic warts’ – these are usually painless. In children, verrucas tend to come and go quite quickly, but in adults they can persist for several years if they are not treated.

  • They are spread by person to person contact
  • Use of communal showers is associated with higher rates of plantar warts

 

  • They are widespread and some report as many as 10% of the population affected at any time
  • Most people get them at some time in their lives
  • They appear to affect women marginally more than men
  • They are more common with peak incidence in children and teenagers (affect about 4-5%)

 

  • They may cause pain particularly with walking
  • Occasionally leg or back pain may result from altered posture or gait disturbance
  • May be found in other family members

Treatment include:

  • Salicylic acid preparations
  • Formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde preparations
  • Cryotherapy- usually 2 to 4 treatments (using a 1 minute freeze thaw cycle after paring away excess keratin) 4 weeks apart

Treatment of verrucae via radio wave surgery

Electrosurgery involves numbing the verruca then using a radiowave machine to cut out the verruca.

 

You have to attend the surgery 3 days later to have the wound redressed then every day for 4 weeks you do a salt soak and apply antiseptic and a sterile dressing.

 

After 3 weeks you need to come back to see us for a checkup. The healing time is normally 4 weeks.

 

Verrucae are common skin lesions seen mainly in younger patients. They often are seen on the plantar surface of the foot. Many different types of treatments have been used over the years, with varying levels of success. The authors present a thorough review of previous treatments and present a new and effective method of surgical excision using radio wave technique. The success of this treatment is high, and the postsurgical pain and complication level is minimal.

 

Author information

Author/s: Valinsky, M S (MS); Hettinger, D F (DF); Gennett, P M (PM);

Affiliation: College of Podiatric Medicine, Chicago, IL.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc), published in UNITED STATES. (Language: eng)

Reference: 1990-Sep; vol 80 (issue 9) : pp 482-8

Dates: Created 1990/12/05; Completed 1990/12/05; Revised 2008/11/21;