Photodynamic therapy: new treatment for therapy-resistant plantar warts

Plantar wart treatment remains a challenging one. Various treatment modalities have been previously used and are still in current use. The problem remains in the degree of response to these treatments and the side effects associated with them.

The aim of this study was to test a new treatment modality for therapy-resistant plantar warts.

Thirty-one patients with 48 plantar warts were randomly selected from the Department of Laser Therapy, Medical Centre Maastricht, The Netherlands. The mean age of the patients was 29 years (range 6-74 years). The mean incubation time was 6.8 hours, and the mean treatment time was 18.7 minutes per wart. Each wart was treated an average of 2.3 times, with a median fluence of 100 cm2.

Forty-two of 48 (88%) warts showed a complete response. A trend was found between total clearance and size of the warts, age of the patient, and the mean treatment time. No significant side effects were seen postoperatively.

This study showed that recalcitrant plantar warts were successfully treated with no significant side effects; however, the user needs sufficient experience for this new effective treatment application.