The main causes of verrucas

• Verrucas are caused by the HPV virus.
• They are spread to people via contaminated surfaces or through skin contact, this is increased if the skin is wet, which is why swimming pools are often places where people get infected with a verruca.
• You’re more likely to spread or contract a verruca if your skin is damaged.
• You’re more likely to contract a verruca if you have a weakened immune system.
• Verrucas are most common amongst children and teenagers.

What is Verruca Needling?

In order to effectively treat verrucas, and eradicate the virus, the body needs to fight the virus from within using its own powerful immune system – this is where verruca needing comes in.

Under local anaesthetic, a sterile needle is repeatedly inserted into and through the verruca lesion. This causes controlled trauma and a breakdown of the verruca tissue, which stimulates a healing response. It also stimulates the immune regulators that are found in the deeper tissues of the skin, which prompts the body’s immune system to kick in and destroy the virus. By treating the virus systemically, it doesn’t just remove the unsightly, painful skin lesion, but reduces the likelihood of the verruca/verrucas returning.

Why Choose Verruca Needling?

Verruca needling is an evidenced based treatment offered at a number of our London clinics. It has been used for treating verrucas for over 40 years, and is a minimally invasive procedure which can eliminate verrucas effectively; often in just a single treatment.
This makes it an attractive solution for people who have demanding schedules and cannot attend multiple appointments.

• Excellent success rates.
• Unlike many treatments, it targets the underlying cause of the verruca.
• It is minimally invasive and leaves no/minimal scars.
• Often only requires a single treatment, although sometimes a followup treatment might be suggested.
• Quick recovery time causing only mild pain and discomfort for a few days following the procedure.
• It is a safe procedure with minimal risks.

Verruca Needling Procedure

1. Anaesthesia: After an assessment to determine patient suitability for this procedure. An injection of local anaesthetic is performed to ensure a pain-free procedure.
2. Barbitage: Once the verruca is numb the area will be cleaned with antiseptic wash before being pierced several dozen times. The area of verruca tissue is broken up; this induces a new inflammatory/healing phase which produces a response that is effective in approximately 70% of cases.
3. Padding & Dressing: A pad will be applied to offload the verruca to ensure comfort following the procedure and a dressing will be applied to the area which you should keep dry for a period of three days.
4. Aftercare:

• After the procedure you are required to rest and take pain relief (if required).
• This procedure takes around one hour. You can walk normally afterwards but cannot drive for 24 hours.
• First review takes place 2-7 days post-op and a final checkup to review the outcome of the procedure at three months post-op.

5. Healing Time: Healing times vary on a case by case basis but results with this procedure are usually seen by three months post-op. This healing period is usually painless.

Is the procedure painful?

This procedure is performed under local anaesthetic and as such it is a pain-free operation. Following the procedure there is also usually very little discomfort and most patients do not require any pain relief medication. Some patients experience mild to moderate symptoms which are easily managed with over the counter medication such as paracetamol. We do not advise patients to take aspirin as this medication has a blood thinning action and can increase postoperative bleeding.

Risks

This procedure is a safe and effective method of treating verruca. As with any procedure there are some risks but these will be discussed during the course of taking informed consent.