We offer surgical removal of viral warts at our private Blaydon minor surgery clinic from £250 including consultation fee.
Viral warts can be difficult to treat using over-the-counter treatments, and surgical removal under local anaesthetic can provide a rapid resolution.
Warts are firm, raised skin growths that occur as a result of a viral infection of the skin. They tend not to itch or be painful, unless they are on the feet and result in pressure symptoms (a verruca).
Viral warts will often clear themselves in time, as the body’s immune system fights the virus. However, sometimes they do not resolve, and people wish to consider treatment.
Viral warts are not dangerous, and can also be treated with over-the-counter medication, although this can be a slow and sometimes rather ineffective process. It is very rate for the NHS to treat viral warts. Warts can be a cause of irritation or discomfort, and many people choose to have them removed at a private clinic.
We start by injecting a small amount of local anaesthetic under the wart using a very fine needle. We then use a sharp instrument called a curette to shave away the wart below the surface of the skin. Finally, we use the Hyfrecator to gently cauterise the underlying tissue and seal any blood vessels. A waterproof dressing is applied to the site. A scab will form over the site, which will drop away after a week or two to leave a pink patch of skin. This will fade over a few months, perhaps leaving a faint scar, although this often is barely visible.
The advantage of surgical treatment compared to cryotherapy (freezing) is that the wart is usually entirely removed in a single treatment, and repeat appointments are not needed.
Most warts do not need sending for histology. On some occasions, we may advise that the tissue which has been removed is sent to the laboratory and checked for any cancerous cells. We will advise this if there is any diagnostic doubt after dermoscopy, or sometimes if patients have a history of previous skin cancer. While it is possible to rule out cancer by examination with the dermatoscope in most cases, it is also possible to be caught out, and this is not an area where we are prepared to cut corners. If a cancer is inadvertently removed, we can arrange immediate referral to NHS cancer specialists.
All of the techniques which we offer allow full laboratory analysis of the tissue which has been removed. Treatments such as freezing (cryotherapy) or burning (with a laser or hyfrecator) destroy the tissue and histology is not possible.
You will leave with a waterproof dressing on the wound, and a spare dressing in case it needs changing. We advise taking some paracetamol to counteract any pain which you may experience when the local anaesthetic wears off after four hours or so.
We remain available for any advice or follow-up which is required: all patients leave with our emergency contact details, including an out of hours emergency phone line.
If any samples have been sent, we will write to you with the results of your histology, usually within two weeks.
The cost of a consultation is £100. Unlike some clinics, we do not bundle this in with the cost of your procedure, as we believe it is important to offer our patients a no-pressure, personalised consultation with our experienced doctor. As the cost of the consultation has been paid in full, there is never any pressure or expectation for patients to have a procedure, when sometimes, reassurance or advice is all that is needed.
The procedure cost to remove a single wart is £150, with additional warts charged at £50 each.
