Question
Hi there. I have had a wart on the ball of my foot for nearly seven years. In that time period I had it frozen with nitrogen twice, but the wart was too huge that the treatment did nothing. Since then I have gone to see a podiatrist. For almost four months now, I have gone to her every week where she trims, puts a "3-day" (or sometimes "8-hour", higher concentration acid) salicylic acid treatment on the wart, and then instructs me to use Mediplast for the remainder of the week. Even though the wart was so huge that it wrapped around my nerve endings, giving me great pain when she trims it, I feel like the treatments are not working. We have spent over $1000 on this wart, and the Podiatrist claims that it is still not gone. I wanted to know if, after hearing my story, if it sounds like we are being "ripped off" by this podiatrist. If there is any other treatment that would rid me of this wart that my podiatrist is not telling me about, please let me know. She claims that cutting it out will not do anything and that acid is the only cure. I feel like after all the pain I have been through with the burning and blistering of the acid and the pain of the trimmings, the wart virus should be killed by now. --Erin

Answer
This Chicago, South Loop & Elmhurst Podiatrist of AnklenfootCenter.com says.......


Dear Erin,

Go get the growth biopsied-make sure it is a plantar wart. Warts do not wrap around nerves.
That said-warts can be very resistant to treatment and it may be time to see another podiatrist for a different type of treatment-especially if you are not seeing a reduction in the size.
There are about 20+ different treatments for warts-with a success rate of 30-90%. That means that there is not one perfect treatment for warts and success rate will vary from doctor to doctor.
Best treatments seem to be those where you get a bad blister-which causes an antibody response and may destroy the virus.
That said-are you a good patient?-Do you keep your feet from being moist?
Sometimes calluses under the balls of the foot are mistaken for warts-those will not go away with the above treatment. That requires orthotics; change in shoegear, weight or activities; and sometimes surgery.

Hope This Helps
Good Luck!

Dr George Tsatsos & Svetlana Zats
Podiatrist Chicago 60618 & Elmhurst 60126 Podiatrists
Board Certified in Foot and Ankle Surgery & Orthopedics
New South Loop Location-Chicago 60661
AnkleNFoot.com
Runnersdoc.com
BabyFootDoc.com

DISCLAIMER:
This information is offered as free advice and as general information. It may not be applicable to the specific questioner and his/her problem.  It is not based on actual knowledge of the questioner or his/her medical history and it cannot and should not be relied upon as definitive medical opinion or advice.  Reliable medical opinion and advice can only be obtained through hands-on physical contact and exam of the patient to establish an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.  No doctor/patient relationship is created or established here and may not be inferred through answers on this site.  The questioner and other readers must consult his/her own doctor before proceeding or implementing any suggestions contained within this document and answers on this site.  The questioner is only to act upon his/her own doctor抯 orders and recommendations. By reading this posting which follows, the reader fully understands and confirms that he/she holds harmless this writer. If this is not fully agreeable to you, the reader, and/or you have not attained the age of 18 years, you hereby are advised to read no further.