Among other options is injection of interferon. Surprisingly, some clinicians advocate no initial treatment for what they consider a self-limiting disease. However, once patients understand that the infection is sexually transmitted, their acceptance of this conservative approach is poor. However, the argument is sometimes made that because so many persons are infected, trying to treat everyone infected with a nononcogenic type of HPV is pointless. A counterargument is that virtually every type of HPV has been found to be associated with neoplastic change and, furthermore, typing is not always accurate.
Most patients understand that the disease is sexually transmitted and want to receive treatment.
Each method generally produces the same results, and both limit the damage to surrounding and underlying tissue. For cervical and vaginal lesions, both treatments can usually be done without specific anesthesia, although some patients require local or paracervical anesthesia with laser ablation. The major advantage of laser ablation is that just one treatment is necessary, minimizing the time involved for both physician and patient. The major disadvantage is cost, and there is a potential for some pain. Trichlo-roacetic acid application is generally painless but requires multiple office visits, involving associated costs and time lost from work.