If you have lesions on the soles of your feet, you may be looking for a wart removal comparison between Swift therapy vs traditional plantar wart treatments. In this post, we highlight the effectiveness, success rates and treatment times of SWIFT vs acid treatment, cryotherapy and surgical removal at your Smyrna podiatrist office.

Traditional Plantar Wart Treatments Before and after SWIFT treatment for plantar warts

Some of the conventional options for treating warts include:

  • Cryotherapy. With this treatment option, the podiatrist applies liquid nitrogen to the wart. This causes a blister to form around the wart site, eventually killing off the skin and allowing the dead wart to fall from your foot. This method is usually effective—though it takes a long time to see results. Plus, treatment is painful and can leave you with scars on your feet.

  • Acid Treatment. This method involves applying salicylic acid to the skin on a daily basis. Over time, you will gradually be able to peel the wart away from your foot. But this method is also time consuming; often fails to completely clear the HPV infection causing the wart; can lead to skin irritation; and isn’t safe for patients who have compromised circulation or who require diabetic foot care.

  • Surgical Removal. When plantar warts are deeply rooted in the skin of your foot, a podiatrist may recommend cutting the lesion away with surgery. However, the wound will need to heal for several weeks, you will need to have stitches after your procedure and your risk for infection will increase. Even after healing, this treatment option will leave you with a scar.

Now, each of these treatments has some serious risks to consider. Even worse? Many warts fail to respond to traditional plantar wart treatments, even after several months. At that point, they are considered recalcitrant warts. As such, many people prefer to explore an alternative treatment option: SWIFT Therapy for Plantar Warts.

What is SWIFT Therapy?

SWIFT uses low-powered microwave energy to penetrate 3 mm beneath the surface of your skin, uncloaking the HPV virus. This allows your immune system to fight off the infection, helping clear your warts and preventing them from returning. Safe, comfortable and effective, most patients enjoy lasting wart relief in just three treatment sessions.

Wart Removal Comparison: Efficacy, Treatment Times and Risks

Now that you understand the basic function of varying plantar wart treatments, let’s take a closer look with head-to-head comparisons.

SWIFT vs Acid Treatment

As mentioned, your body can take time to respond to acid treatment for plantar warts—using this method, you will have to apply a daily dose of medication to your wart for two to three months before seeing results. In contrast, SWIFT therapy typically requires just three or four sessions, each lasting about 10 minutes and spaced apart by 1 month, in order to clear your wart.

Acid treatments can be painful and often cause skin irritation or even scarring. Yet with SWIFT, you are likely to experience mild discomfort during treatment. It should resolve quickly after your session, and skin may be mildly tender for just a day or two. Neither treatment is recommended for diabetic patients.

Cryotherapy Comparison

If you treat your plantar warts with cryotherapy (liquid nitrogen), the process will take several weeks following the initial freezing session, and multiple sessions may be necessary before your wart completely resolves. Unlike SWIFT therapy, this protocol requires aftercare, as you’ll have to keep the treatment site clean and dry, and you’ll have to take care not to pick at the blister that forms afterward. This treatment option is also not appropriate for young children, or for individuals with darker skin, whereas SWIFT therapy is a good option for both those groups.

Surgery vs SWIFT

Surgical plantar wart removal is considered a last-resort treatment when other options have failed to provide relief. It requires local anesthetic at a minimum; afterward, there will be stitches and an incision site to care for and post-surgical instructions to follow. In contrast, SWIFT is considered an effective first-line therapy for plantar warts. After treatment, you can immediately resume all normal activities. And there are no wounds to care for after the session is over, simplifying your post-treatment routine.

Choosing SWIFT Therapy in Smyrna, Georgia

If you want fast, effective plantar wart treatment in the Smyrna region, we encourage you to contact Dr. Alvin Cowans at Optimum podiatry. When you come into his office, located in Powder Springs, GA, he will assess your warts and come up with the ideal treatment plan for your needs. Just call the office at 770-727-0614 or follow this link to request an appointment.

Say Goodbye to Warts at Optimum Podiatry in Powder Springs, GA

Visit Dr. Alvin Cowans at Optimum Podiatry located in the community of Lost Mountain in Powder Springs, GA. Dr. Alvin Cowans is a foot and ankle expert and board certified foot surgeon. Dr. Cowans offers swift therapy to treat plantar warts, an advanced technology that is more effective than traditional options. Optimum Podiatry serves patients throughout Cobb County and Paulding County, including Marietta, Smyrna, Mableton, Kennesaw, Austell, Dallas, Hiram, Acworth, and Lithia Springs.

Call 770-727-0614 to schedule your appointment or click here to get started.

Post A Comment