At WiseGEEK, we're committed to delivering accurate, trustworthy information. Our expert-authored content is rigorously fact-checked and sourced from credible authorities. Discover how we uphold the highest standards in providing you with reliable knowledge.
What can I Expect from Laser Wart Removal?
Nicole Madison
Nicole Madison
Laser wart removal involves the use of laser light to treat warts. If you choose to undergo this treatment, you can expect a medical professional to focus a laser beam on the wart to destroy the blood vessels that supply it with blood. The length of time required for this may depend on the size of the wart and where it is located. For a simple wart, you may need only one or two treatments that last for a half hour or less each. In most cases, the treatment isn’t painful, but you may feel a bit of stinging or burning while the laser energy is focused on your skin.
Since this form of wart removal is non-invasive, you won’t need an incision or general anesthesia to undergo treatment. Instead, you can expect the procedure to involve a laser that is focused on the wart. This beam of energy doesn’t usually affect or harm the top layers of the skin. Instead, the technician focus it in the blood vessels that supply the wart with blood. By depriving the wart of its blood supply, this type of treatment can destroy it.
Laser wart removal can be accomplished in a doctor’s office or in the outpatient department of a hospital. Since it is a non-invasive treatment, you can typically go home soon after it is over. Often, the treatment can be completed in less than 30 minutes, though you may need several treatments to destroy the wart completely. If you have multiple warts, one that is in a hard to reach area, or a wart that is very large, the removal sessions may last longer or you may have to undergo several treatments.
In most cases, using a laser for wart removal does not cause much pain, although you may feel some discomfort during treatment. You may experience some slight stinging and burning, for example, and some medical professionals will administer local anesthesia or another type of pain killer to lessen this discomfort.
After laser wart removal, you can usually expect the skin in the treated area to take on a bluish coloring, and it may appear a bit swollen. This usually only lasts for a short period of time, and in most cases, you can expect the skin to return to its normal state within a few days of treatment.
Nicole Madison
Nicole’s thirst for knowledge inspired her to become a WiseGEEK writer, and she focuses primarily on topics such as homeschooling, parenting, health, science, and business. When not writing or spending time with her four children, Nicole enjoys reading, camping, and going to the beach.
Learn more...
Nicole Madison
Nicole’s thirst for knowledge inspired her to become a WiseGEEK writer, and she focuses primarily on topics such as homeschooling, parenting, health, science, and business. When not writing or spending time with her four children, Nicole enjoys reading, camping, and going to the beach.
Learn more...AS FEATURED ON:
AS FEATURED ON:
-
![Warts can be also removed by using liquid nitrogen.]()
By: Gordon LauWarts can be also removed by using liquid nitrogen. -
![Laser treatments can remove plantar warts, which tend to grow on the balls of the feet.]()
By: Arve BettumLaser treatments can remove plantar warts, which tend to grow on the balls of the feet. -
![During laser wart removal procedures, a laser beam is used to destroy the blood vessels that supply a wart with blood.]()
By: danr13During laser wart removal procedures, a laser beam is used to destroy the blood vessels that supply a wart with blood.
Discussion Comments
I had genital warts removal done with laser therapy. It was actually easier than I expected. My doctor numbed the area, so there was no pain.
A few days after I went home however, I noticed a yellow discharge and burning pain from the warts. I went back to my doctor who said that it's an infection. I had to take oral antibiotics to treat it. So even though it's a popular treatment, especially for genital warts, laser wart removal can cause problems.
The other downside is that if anti-viral medications aren't used, the warts can come back soon after laser treatment.
@ddljohn-- You're right. The laser treatment used today is different than what you described. Laser treatment for warts cuts off blood supply in the tissue beneath skin. So the surface of the wart is not affected or burned.
There was a type of laser treatment for warts when I was young which basically involved burning the wart with laser. When I say burn, I mean that the wart literally turned into charcoal and smelled like charcoal for a very long time. Eventually the wart would fall off leaving a nice scar behind.
I had several warts on my hand treated this way as a child. As far as I know, the laser treatments used for warts nowadays are much different and better. There is no actual burning involved, it's less invasive and is less likely to scar.
Post your comments