Warts are not only a cosmetic defect, but also a sign that the body is infected with the papilloma virus and needs treatment. There are many ways to eliminate tumors, but the most popular is to remove papilloma with laser. This method is considered to be one of the safest methods, it allows you to quickly remove the papilloma, and almost no complications after removal. But laser is not a panacea, nor is it suitable for everyone. Let us consider how laser treatment is performed and understand the advantages and disadvantages of the procedure.
What is laser therapy
Laser therapy involves exposing the tumor to a light beam of a specific wavelength. When the papilloma is removed, the following will happen:
- Water evaporates from tumor cells;
- The cell structure began to deteriorate.
The light beam destroys the wart and hardly damages the epidermis. The operation is performed under local anesthesia in an outpatient clinic.
Advantages of this technology
Experts who choose the method to remove papilloma prefer lasers. Let us consider the main advantages of laser surgery:
- The injury rate is low. The depth of the light beam is individually selected. During the exposure process, only the warts are eliminated without harming the deep layers of the epidermis.
- No blood. The light beam causes coagulation (wall adhesion) of the blood vessels supplying the tumor, so there is no bleeding during the operation.
- The risk of infection is low. Because the blood vessels "stick together", the possibility of wound infection is very small.
- It can remove papilloma in any part of the human body.
- There are fewer scars after surgery. According to the medical advice of skin care, no traces will be left on the laser-irradiated area. This makes it possible to remove papillomas on the neck, face and other exposed parts of the body without leaving unsightly scars.
- The recovery period is short. The traces of the intervention healed within a week.
- Can eliminate tumors of any size. The size of the wart has nothing to do with laser treatment.
- Relatively painless. During the action of the beam, most patients only feel warmth, and only those with increased sensitivity will feel pain. To eliminate pain or discomfort, it is removed under local anesthesia.
- Safety. Papilloma can be eliminated even in childhood.
Although laser removal has advantages over other methods and is performed in many beauty salons, it is necessary to consult a doctor before the removal is formed.
The necessity of consultation is to distinguish papilloma from other tumors and to determine possible contraindications.
Disadvantages and possible contraindications
Although safe, laser removal of verrucous vegetation has several disadvantages:
- Scar formation. This complication occurs in people with low tissue regeneration capacity. Scars from the area where the warts are removed are rare.
- The addition of secondary infections. Improper wound care after laser resection results in wound infection, accompanied by edema or suppuration.
- allergy. There is no allergy to laser, but there may be a reaction to anesthesia. The presentation may be different: from local hyperemia and edema to anaphylactic shock.
- High price. For tumors caused by the HPV virus, laser resection is chargeable, and the cost depends on the size and number of warts formed.
- Unable to conduct cytological research. By laser irradiation, the wart body cells are completely destroyed. If tissue degeneration is suspected, it is necessary to study the removed papilloma.
In addition to the possible negative consequences of removal, there are absolute contraindications:
- Endocrine disorders (thyroid disease, diabetes, etc. );
- Infection and inflammation process of the skin at the growth site;
- Acute or chronic disease exacerbation;
- Recently exposed to the sun for a long time or go to the solarium (2 weeks should have passed since the moment of tanning);
- Oncology process;
- Pregnancy and lactation.
Before the operation, the doctor will examine the patient to determine possible complications after removal of the papilloma and whether there are contraindications. Doctor’s consultation helps reduce the risk of complications.
What papilloma can be removed with laser
Is it dangerous to remove papilloma with laser? Only the doctor will answer after examining the patient. Almost all types of warts can be removed using laser destruction.
Laser treatment is suitable for the following types of wart formation:
- vulgar;
- Condyloma acuminata;
- prick;
- flat;
- Filamentous
- On a thin leg.
The contraindication to the use of laser treatment is the suspicion of histopathological degeneration, which requires cytological examination. In this case, the removal is performed in a different way, which makes it possible to preserve the biological material for analysis.
Machine type
There are several types of equipment used to remove papilloma:
- Contour TRL (tunable resurfacing laser). It is considered one of the safest products, equipped with a beam adjustment function, which allows you to accurately calculate the depth of penetration into tissues.
- Sciton embedded laser platform. The new technology can well heat the deep layers of the epidermis and remove skin cells altered by the papilloma virus. In addition to eliminating warts, the device is also used for cosmetic surgery.
- SmartXide DOT (Italy). It has a protective effect on the epidermis, not only for removing wart-like growths, but also for rejuvenating the skin (the process of "removing" the upper keratinized epithelium occurs at the same time).
The doctor uses any of the described equipment to qualitatively remove the papilloma, using a laser beam as an alternative to a scalpel.
Laser destruction is considered to be one of the less traumatic methods to eliminate warts. However, although the procedure is safe, it is still necessary to consult a doctor before performing the procedure to reduce the risk of side effects and determine contraindications.
The type of equipment purchased depends on the clinic's profile (additional beauty services are provided) and the institution's financial capabilities (equipment costs are different).
Preparation procedure
Laser removal of papilloma does not require special training. But before you proceed with this procedure, it is recommended that:
- Determine the HPV strain. Some papillomaviruses are carcinogenic.
- Show the wart-like structure to the dermatologist. This is important when the color or shape of the papilloma changes. If a tumor process is suspected, cytology is required. Cytology cannot be performed after laser removal.
On the day of the operation, you need to clean the area where the warts are located and do not drink alcohol.
How does laser removal work?
Laser damage can be conditionally divided into several stages:
- Antiseptic treatment of skin surface;
- Inject local anesthetics (if necessary);
- Layer-by-layer laser evaporation of papilloma.
Skin tumors will disappear in a short time (from a few seconds to a few minutes) and usually do not need to be re-treated.
Only when the tumor is large may require multiple treatments. In this case, in order to reduce the trauma to the epithelium, it takes several days to remove the warts layer by layer.
How to treat the wound after papilloma resection
To avoid complications after papilloma removal, doctors give the following suggestions:
- What to deal with. It is necessary to use wound healing ointment or gel, and use weak manganese solution or calendula tincture to wipe the postoperative wound. Due to the low rate of cell regeneration, you need to consult a dermatologist on how to treat the postoperative surface to avoid scarring.
- Don't do anything after the operation. It is strictly forbidden to peel off the crust formed at the excision site or to injure the wound surface. After the regeneration process is completed, the scab will fall off by itself. In order to avoid injury when rubbed with clothes, it is recommended to stick the area where the warts are removed with antiseptic cream. But you don't need to walk with a cast often-the wound needs ventilation to heal completely.
After the papilloma is removed with a laser, care is easy: you just don't need to damage the surface of the wound and treat it regularly with wound healing agents. At the risk of complications related to scar formation, doctors will make special recommendations on how to care for the wound after surgery.
Recovery period
Although the recovery period after laser damage is very short, it is important to follow all the advice given by the doctor after laser removal of the papilloma.
Usually, the surface of the skin treated with laser will heal within a week after surgery. In order to prevent the appearance of scars and scars, the recommended drugs must be used and do not try to peel off the formed scabs.
In most patients, the scab will disappear after 7-10 days, and it may take longer as the large wart body is destroyed. After the crust falls off, a smooth pink epidermis can be seen in the removed part, gradually showing a normal color.
Does laser removal of papilloma hurt?
Most patients are afraid of pain, and confidence in the absence of pain is important for psychological comfort. The following can be said about laser treatment:
- Only heat is felt at the place where the laser is applied;
- Suspicious patients or skin allergies undergo laser removal under local anesthesia.
The removal time is very short (the longest-a few minutes), and there is only a slight discomfort in the area where the wart is removed, which disappears on the first day after the destruction.
What is the service cost of the clinic
The cost of removing papilloma depends on the following factors:
- The reputation of the clinic;
- Which parts of the body are warts (for the face and genitals, "special methods" are required);
- Size, and other factors.