Dr. Michael Tirgan, MD - New York City

Skin Growth Removal / Skin Tumor Treatment; One Patient at a Time.

Warts and HPV

Warts result from excess growth of the outer layer of the skin in response to infection with the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV).  Wart are always benign and painless unless  they become irritated.  Warts can occur on almost any part of the body.  In children, they most commonly occur on the hands and  feet.  In adults, they can occur on almost every part of the body.

Genital warts in adults are sexually transmitted.  These warts can occur on male or female genital and  anal areas.  They are due to infection with certain strain of HPV.  Although the warts can be easily removed with cryotherapy, the virus itself cannot be eradicated.  This results at times in frequent recurrence of the warts after treatment.   Click here to read more about genital warts.

Treatments for warts:

Cryotherapy is by far the most effective treatment for almost all warts and is the gold standard treatment for this condition.  With Cryotherapy, the tissue that makes up the wart is destroyed.  Over next several days after treatment, the treated warts will dry out and form dark scabs and eventually fall off in about ten days to two weeks.  All warts, regardless of their location, can be safely and effectively be treated with cryotherapy. Skin will remain intact at all times with this treatment eliminating the risk of infection or any other complications.  Most warts usually disappear after one treatment, however, some warts may require more than one treatment.

Although warts  respond to cryotherapy, they can recur in future in the same or in a different location.  This is due to the HPV viral origins of this condition.  Although the wart tissue can be destroyed, the virus cannot, and this may result in formation of warts in the same or adjacent location.

For patients who have recurrent warts, or when the recurrence is very frequent, I use immune modulating therapies, so that the immune system is stimulated to fight against the HPV virus.  Using series of BCG vaccines, PPD injections as well as injections with Candida antigen, we can stimulate an immune reaction that may induce a remission in the hard to treat warts.   Several clinical trials  have proven that stimulating the immune system can induce remission in the warts. 

Immunotherapy employs the ability of the immune system to recognize certain viral and fungal antigens and thereafter to fight HPV warts.  PPD which is a test for tuberculosis or Candida skin test antigen generally is used. It is believed that the delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction induced by these antigens increases the ability of the immune system to recognize and clear HPV warts. Complete clearance rates of up to 70 percent for Candida immunotherapy have been observed. The most common side effects from skin injections are itching at the injection site.

The video below depicts how I apply cryotherapy to a skin  wart.

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Copyright © 2011 Michael H. Tirgan, M.D., all rights reserved.