Warts are small, benign (harmless) growths caused by a viral infection. They occur on the skin or the mucous membrane. The viruses that cause warts are members of the human papilloma virus (HPV) family. Warts can be transmitted from one person to another and they can travel from one part of the body to another.

 

Electrocautery is a common treatment used to remove facial and body warts by using a small probe with an electric current to burn away warts. Electrocautery reduces the risk of bleeding during wart removal. Topical anesthesia will be applied before the procedure which takes 30 – 45 minutes to numb the skin. After which, a tool with a thin, needle-like, hot tip will come in contact with the wart. The actual electrocautery procedure will take 15 to 60 minutes depending on the number of areas to be treated. For distinct and larger warts, an intralesional anesthesia injection is usually done instead of topical anesthesia before the electrocautery.

Scabs will form over the wart treated. It will drop off by itself in 5 – 7 days and will leave a small reddish mark. Complete healing may take 1 to 2 weeks. Follow the post-electrocautery instruction to prevent infection or scarring.