cryotherapy for warts

Last reviewed 01/2018

• cryotherapy is a technique that may be used in the treatment of viral warts
  
  
• freezing of the wart is achieved via the use of liquid nitrogen - a temperature of -196 degrees centigrade can be achieved
  
  
• cryotherapy is believed to cause cell damage via intracellular ice formation, blood supply changes, osmotic effects and immune stimulation. Cryotherapy does not kill the virus via the cold temperature - it destroys the tissue in which the virus lives
  
  
• number of treatments to cure viral wart - about 75% of patients are cured after 4 treatments administered at 3-weekly intervals (1)
  
  
• disadvantages of this form of treatment include:
• absence of histology - therefore diagnosis cannot be confirmed
• often painful
  
  
• possible serious complications of cryotherapy include hypopigmentation, scarring, damage to underlying nerves, tendon rupture, risk of ulcer development (2)

Reference:

• (1) Lawrence C. An introduction to dermatological surgery. Oxford: Blackwell Science, 1996.
• (2) Pulse (1/9/01), 51.