Treatment options for verruca: surgical versus non-surgical

What is a verruca?

A verruca is a skin virus on the foot caused by the human papillomavirus which causes other warts such as genital warts and cold sores.

However, when it affects the foot, it is known as a verruca or a verruca pedis and occasionally also terms used such as plantar wart of the foot.

Types of verruca

The types of verruca are definitely classified as whether they are isolated lesions as in single lesions and whether they are what is known as a mosaic wart which is multiple clusters of warts that exist together.

They can cause local skin reactions and therefore result in a lot of hard skin and fibrous skin and thus result in pain.

They do spread through wet surfaces and seem to be more prevalent in children and the developing immune system than adults.

Typically verruca describes a wart anywhere on the foot whereas a plantar wart is specifically at the bottom of the foot.

They can be very minor or manifest as a major problem where they are all over the foot.

Some immune conditions where you have reduced immunity due to either to the medication or to the medical conditions, you may be more susceptible to getting verruca or plantar warts.

Non-surgical treatment options

Non-surgical treatment options vary and start with topical treatment such as salicylic acid.

Some of the over-the-counter treatments are available which are in creams or paints.

They are applied a couple of times a week over a couple of weeks and may be effective.

However, in cases where this is not effective, then other treatments such as strong acids may be tried by a podiatrist, but require very careful monitoring.

Other non-surgical treatments include cryotherapy and curettage where the verrucas are debrided and frozen.

You may need sometimes multiple treatments over a period of time, resulting in blister and haematoma formation and gradual careful monitoring to ensure that the verrucas are treated.

Verruca removal surgery in London, what to expect

Verruca removal surgery is essentially two types of operations, the first being electrification or electrical therapy where the warts are cauterised.

These techniques are usually used for more superficial warts, which are burnt under local anaesthetic and removed.

The second stage is of controlled depth excision where the full skin layer is excised and these are really for more fibrotic or scarred thickened warts or warts that haven’t been removable to more minor surgical excision.

These essentially constitute the two types of surgical treatment options.

Post treatment care

Post treatment care depends on the depth of the excision. For most superficial lesions only a couple of days of keeping the wound dry and then maintaining dressing whilst it scabs over is required.

However, for more excisional procedures you need to see the specialist more regularly, maybe two to three weeks and sometimes four weeks for the wound to fully heal and it may weep during that period.

This will require careful monitoring of the wound, maybe cleaning it with salt water and maintaining a sterile dressing for that period until the wound has healed.

The stages of verruca dying

The stages of verruca dying essentially are from actually forming, destroying the tissue that is affected and then the immune system kicking in at a later stage to try to destroy any remaining tissue.

This may take a number of weeks or months sometimes.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How to get rid of verruca overnight

A. It’s not possible to get rid of overnight, but over-the-counter treatments that are used to treat warts can help over a period and can be applied at night.

Q. What does a verruca look like?

A. A verruca typically looks like a cauliflower type skin lesion with dots and these dots are little impregnation of blood vessels where it’s a wart that lives on your body and therefore gets its nutrients from your local host which is your skin tissue.

Q. How to remove a verruca?

A. A verruca removal is under local anaesthetic, either electrocautery or high frequency is used to burn the wart or an excision is performed by a podiatrist or surgeon.

Q. What causes verruca?

A. Verrucas are caused by the human papillomavirus, which is the same virus that causes cold sores and genital warts.

Q. How to get rid of verrucas at home?

A. Home remedies have been varied and include old mother’s tales known as banana skin or tea tree oil, but it seems that over-the-counter treatments such as salicylic acids are the best way to try to treat this at home.