Colposcopic evaluation of men with genital warts

Colposcopy, which is the examination of the female genital tract that generally is performed after the application of acetic acid, has been an effective tool in the diagnosis of genital warts (condyloma acuminatum) in women for years. With the help of colposcopy, both microscopic and flat warts that cannot be visualized with traditional, noncolposcopic methods can be seen and, hence, treated. Recently, studies reported in the gynecologic and urologic literature have evaluated the usefulness of colposcopy in male patients. We present a patient whose genital warts were recalcitrant to treatment. When examined with colposcopy he was noted to have multiple additional areas of involvement. In view of the neoplastic potential of the human papillomavirus, the ease with which it is transmitted sexually, and the difficulty in discerning certain kinds of warts without colposcopy, we believe colposcopic examination should be routine in all men with genital warts and in those whose sexual partners have tested positive for human papillomavirus.