Up to date there is no guaranteed method of treatment for removing verruca virus tissue.
The methods we have found most effective over the last 40 years of treating verrucae, are cryosurgery and chemical treatments used in conjunction with low level laser therapy. However we cannot guarantee that we will be able to successfully remove your verruca. We do remove 96% of all verrucae that we treat in adults but a small proportion of patients do not respond. We have better results with children removing 99% of verrucae.
Often it is best to ignore the verruca and eventually your own immune system will get rid of the virus, but it may take several years.
CRYOSURGERY
Liquid nitrogen is -196 degrees centigrade and freezes the verruca tissue.
The verruca tissue is reduced with a scalpel, and then sprayed with liquid nitrogen for 20-40 seconds. This causes a blister to develop after 2-3 days. The blister may be large or small depending on the size of the verruca. It can cause some pain, lasting for up to a week.
The advantage of cryosurgery is the area does not need to be kept dry or dressed, unless the blister needs lancing. Treatment is only necessary once every 2 – 3 weeks.
This procedure is often covered by medical insurance so check with your provider.
Other Treatment
We also offer chemical treatments for verrucae which are suitable for children and adults. The chemical is applied to the skin weekly, and needs to be kept dry and dressed for 7 days, after which it is treated again and kept dry for 7 days and so on until it has gone.
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