WHAT ARE WARTS?
Warts are caused by a virus that effects the upper layers of the skin. They often occur on the hands and feet but can occur in other places as well. Warts can affect people of all ages and are especially common in children and teenagers.
ARE WARTS CONTAGIOUS?
Unfortunately, yes. You can get warts by coming in contact with surfaces that touched someone’s warts, such as towels or bathmats or from touching a wart on someone else’s body.
HOW LONG WILL THIS TAKE?
Not long. We will clean the skin and remove any dead or dry skin that may be sitting over the wart. Then we will numb the area. Your appointment will likely take 15-30 minutes.
WILL I NEED MORE THAN 1 TREATMENT?
Possibly. We will start with 1 treatment. After 2-4 weeks if the warts are still present we can reassess and perform a second treatment.
WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT?
Because we typically numb the area being treated the laser treatment should not be painful. After the treatment you may experience a tingling sensation where the laser was used, but most do not feel anything. The wart will usually turn a dusky color that progresses to a dark color. Over the next 2-3 week the wart will fall off. You will be completely healed within 2-4 weeks.
WHY DOES THIS WORK?
Warts are filled with little tiny blood vessels that keep the alive. The laser heats the vessels inside the wart and destroys the vessels. Once the wart does not have a blood supply it will slowly die. Heat from the laser attacks the virus that caused the wart as well.
WHAT TYPE OF LASER WILL BE USED?
An nd-Yag laser will be used for your wart removal. This type of laser is the least likely to cause scarring from wart removal and also extremely effective. Our approach is based on carefully studied scientific literature to give you the most effective treatment.