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What to Expect After a Plantar Warts Surgery

Plantar warts don't require medical treatment, but a patient may opt to have them surgically removed if the warts are painful or if he wants to stop them from spreading. There are several surgical options for the removal of plantar warts, each of which has different post-surgical results.

  1. Electrosurgery

    • During this procedure, a doctor uses an electric needle to remove the wart or warts. The area is anesthetized before the surgery. After the procedure, there can be scarring where the warts were removed.

    Laser Surgery

    • Laser surgery is very expensive and painful. During this procedure, lasers are used to cut out individual warts. Laser surgery is usually a process rather than just one procedure as more than one surgery may be necessary to ensure that the entire wart is removed. Residual pain is not uncommon after laser surgery, but scarring is rare.

    Chemosurgery

    • Chemosurgery is a procedure that involves using acids to remove warts. During this procedure, acid is applied to the wart and left to slowly remove layers of the warts. This treatment can take up to 6 weeks and can be painful.

    General Considerations

    • All surgical procedures to remove warts carry some risk of negative effects. These can include the risks of painful scarring or painful calluses where the warts were. Because plantar warts are caused by a virus that is not eliminated by wart removal, recurrence is a risk for all plantar wart surgery. Your doctor may prescribe antiviral medications to avoid recurrence.

    Contraindications

    • Immunocompromised patients have a lower success rate after plantar wart surgery and may require extensive treatment post-surgery. This could include deeper removal, scar treatment, and immunotherapy to reduce the risk of recurrence.

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