The goal of the treatment of warts is to destroy the wart without damaging the healthy tissue underneath.  In order to do this, warts are rarely excised (cut out) but are treated with different therapies that will preferentially damage warts without hurting the normal skin. Some ways to treat warts include these:

• Topical treatment with medication – this includes medications that are destructive to warts, such as salicylic acid or other caustic treatments. Gels or liquids are applied directly to the skin.
• Freezing – liquid nitrogen is used to freeze the wart tissue. This triggers an immune response that will allow your body to get rid of warts.
• Electrocautery – this involves numbing the area and burning the wart off the overlying skin.
• Minor surgery – sometimes the wart needs to be removed directly; however, this will leave a scar so it isn’t the preferred treatment.

Dr. Obayan has treated many types of common and uncommon warts and can recommend or provide a treatment that works best for the type of wart you have.