CO₂ laser treatment for plantar warts in children: A case series

Several types of human papillomaviruses induce warts. Warts are one of the most common infections in childhood with a reported prevalence of up to 20%. Warts are divided clinically into genital and nongenital forms. Plantar warts are common nongenital warts. In this series, five pediatric cases treated with CO₂ laser for their plantar warts are presented. One patient was a known case of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Three of our patients had history of unsuccessful treatments with other modalities, while the other had received no previous treatment. CO₂ laser with continuous mode (focused and defocused) was used. In our cases, only one session was enough for clearance of the warts. All the patients were visited 1 week and 3 months after treatment to assess the efficacy and any possible recurrences. Follow-up showed that all the patients remained in remission up to 3 months posttreatment with no adverse events.