Swift Wart Therapy

Plantar Warts - A Common & Stubborn Viral Infection

Plantar warts are small lesions that usually appear on the heels or other weight-bearing areas of your feet. Plantar warts are caused by a virus (HPV). The virus enters your body through tiny cuts, breaks, or other weak spots on the bottom of your feet.

Although plantar warts aren’t a serious health concern, in some cases they can become painful and if ignored can tend to spread and multiply on the feet. Signs and symptoms of plantar warts include a small, fleshy, rough, lesion on the bottom of your foot, usually the base of the toes and forefoot or the heel. You may see pinpoint dots in the lesion on close examination and can cause pain when pinched from side to side.

What Is Swift?

Swift is a cutting-edge, FDA-cleared technology that has proven to be highly effective in the removal of plantar warts. It delivers low-dose microwave energy through a specialized probe that targets and effectively treats the underlying HPV virus by stimulating a natural immune response in the body. We like to say that we’re addressing the root cause, not the symptom.

What to Expect

Swift protocol involves three or four treatments, spaced four weeks apart, aligning with the body’s natural immune cycle. Each treatment lasts only 5 - 10 minutes and is what we call a “sock off - sock on” treatment: limited debridement, no breaking of the skin, no bandages. No home treatment is required between treatments, and patients are able to resume daily activities immediately post-treatment.

How Effective Is Swift?

Due to Swift harnessing the power of the patient’s immune system to target the root cause of the wart (HPV), efficacy is significantly higher compared to other treatment methods. Contact our office to learn more about the effectiveness of Swift.

Does Swift Hurt?

While pain is variable and patient/lesion-specific, most patients typically feel some level of discomfort as infected tissue temperatures are rapidly elevated over a two-second dose of energy. The pain immediately subsides following cessation of energy delivery and there is limited post-procedural pain, in fact, some report an immediate reduction in pain levels. All patients are able to continue with day-to-day activities immediately following treatment.

When You Should Come to See Us

It’s important to contact us if you suspect or feel that you have a plantar wart and are seeking removal. The longer you wait to seek treatment, the more likely the wart is to persist. Here are some common symptoms to look out for:

• You may get the feeling of “painful pebbles” in your shoes.
• You may experience pain when you compress the sides of the wart.
• You may see a circular flat spot on the skin with a depressed area in the middle.
• The warts may appear “yellowed” with a crust; small black dots can be an easy giveaway.
• The lesion on your foot is painful, bleeding, or has changed color.
• Treatments you have tried do not work, and the wart reoccurs or multiplies.
• You experience discomfort that prevents you from doing regular activities.
• You have poor sensation in your feet.
• You are unsure if the lesion is a wart.

Learn More About Wart Removal in Bethesda, Potomac, Chevy Chase, MD & Springfield, Annandale & Alexandria, VA