Verruca Needling (Surgery)

Verruca needling or otherwise known as Falknor’s needling was first described in a USA medical journal in 1969. It is an innovative and highly effective treatment for verrucae and has been used extensively  in the USA and Australia. It has become more recognised in the UK too in the past 10-15 years. The procedure is carried out painlessly under local anaesthesia and most patients only experience mild discomfort after the procedure. Verruca needling is also very effective in treating finger warts.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The virus group that caused verrucae is called the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). The reason why verrucae are very stubborn to treat is largely because the virus manages to evade recognition by the body own’s immune system even in someone who is healthy. In order to recognise the infection there has to be an inflammatory response by the body and verruca needling does this by completely breaking down the verruca tissue exposing it to the immune cells in the skin thereby inducing a control inflammatory response. This stimulates the body’s own immune system to recognise and destroy the infection. As this response is systemic usually only the main verruca called the ‘Mother lesion’ is required to be treated leading to spontaneous remission in all other verrucae in cases of multiple infection. Complete remission usually occurs about 16 weeks after the procedure.

Verruca needling is different to other treatments such as freezing or acid ,which usually requires multiple applications, as it only usually requires one to two treatments to resolve the infection even for long-standing verrucae. This makes it ideal for busy patients who do not want attend clinic repeatedly for the infection to be treated.

TREATMENT PLAN

All patients will have to book an initial consultation with the podiatrist so that your suitability can be assessed for the procedure. You will then be booked back for the actual procedure which is 1.5 hours long. The podiatrist will then see you 1-2 days after to review your progress. The skin usually heals very quickly within 7-10 days with most patients return to normal activities within 24hrs.

Bromley Podiatry & Chiropody serves the following locations: Bromley, Pettswood, Chislehurst, Orpington, Beckenham, Shortland, Hayes, Sundridge & Grove Park. Please see our contact page for directions and contact details

Book your appointment now online or call 0208 313 3133