A plantar wart (verruca plantaris) is a noncancerous skin growth on the soles of feet caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). They often develop beneath pressure points, such as the heels or balls of your feet. Multiple plantar warts can form in a large, flat cluster known as a “mosaic wart” and in the past, these have been the most challenging to treat.

I’ve been treating patients with mosaic warts through a procedure called “Surgical Autoimmunization” and have had very positive results. The procedure involves taking a wart and some surrounding tissue out of the wart cluster and implanting it in another area on the sole of the foot. This triggers a response that tells the body’s immune system to attack the HPV virus that causes the warts.

Once the autoimmune reaction is complete the warts usually regress in a period of 2 to 6 weeks. After two weeks, the sutures are removed, the dead wart tissue is sloughed off and the patient is wart-free. The procedure has several benefits:

• The surgery is a 15-minute inpatient procedure done under a local anesthetic.
• Minimal dissection is performed so it is relatively low pain.
• The patient can be fully weight bearing immediately after surgery.
• The procedure has an over 75% success rate after six months post treatment.

If you or a family member is suffering from severe plantar warts, please contact me to see if this procedure is right for you. I highly recommend this option!

— Dr. Frank, 541-385-7129