Some develop into malignant melanoma - skin cancer. Treatment for plantar warts used to be painful, drawn-out surgery with heavy bleeding and swelling. Today, laser surgery is the most effective way to remove plantar warts. Laser treatment dramatically reduces pain, swelling, blood loss and hematoma - blood pooling under the skin. The wart is sent to a laboratory for biopsy and the surgery usually heals in about 30 days.
Patients can avoid surgery if they detect plantar warts early.
Sometimes chemotherapy is enough. A single wart is treated with a peeling agent called salicylic acid. A dressing is placed over the lesion, which is then padded and bandaged. The wart is evaluated a few days later and, if the acid killed off a good portion of the lesion, dead tissue is trimmed away from the wart and the patient is instructed how to repeat the salicylic acid treatment at home. If more progress is seen when he or she returns a week later, continued acid treatment may be all that is needed.