Scarring is a rare complication of cryotherapy. Surgical excision is often the quickest and most effective treatment for large lesions and those that do not respond to other methods. Electrosurgical removal using a high-energy electrical current can be employed to treat HPV lesions. The use of electrosurgery has the advantage of less bleeding. Small lesions can be removed with surgery using local anesthesia.
Larger lesions require a general anesthetic.
Lasers have been used with a high success rate in removing HPV lesions. Lasers' advantage include high cure rates and less bleeding after the procedure. The disadvantages are the expense and lack of availability in most physicians' offices. We believe that all of the female partners who either have lesions or abnormal PAP smears are at increased risk of cervical cancer and therefore their male partners need to be evaluated and, if lesions are identified, appropriate treatment provided. For those men who are uncircumcised and continue to have recurrent lesions underneath their foreskin, a circumcision is recommended.