Pulse-Dyed Laser Treatment

What should I expect when treated with the Pulse-Dye LASER?
Most patients describe the LASER treatment as a rubber band snap against the skin. A black and blue discoloration usually settles in for a few days following the PDL treatment. Most patients will be able to resume normal activities immediately following each of their treatments.

In general how many treatments should I expect until the warts have completely resolved?
Expect about 4 to 6, or even 8, treatments before seeing total resolution of your warts. Each treatment should be spread 2 to 5 weeks apart from the last depending on the recommendations of your physician or aesthetic practitioner.

What are warts?
Warts are non-cancerous skin growths caused by a viral infection in the top layer of the skin. Viruses that cause Warts are called human papillomavirus, HPV). Warts are usually skin-colored and feel rough to the touch, but they can be, dark, flat and smooth. The appearance of a wart depends on where it is growing.

How many kinds of warts are there?
There are several different kinds of warts including: Common warts, Foot (Plantar) warts, and Flat warts.

Common warts - usually grow on the fingers, around the nails and on the backs of the hands. They are more common where skin has been broken. These are often called "seed" warts due to black dots produced by blood vessels.

Foot warts - are usually on the soles of the feet and are called plantar warts. Plantar warts growing in clusters are called mosaic warts. Most plantar warts do not rise above the skin like common warts due to pressure from walking, which pushes them back into the skin. Plantar warts can be painful, feeling like a stone in the shoe. Specification

Flat warts - are smaller and smoother than other warts and tend, to grow in large numbers (20 to 100 at a time). They can occur anywhere, but in children they are most common on the face. In, adults they are often found in the beard area in men and on the legs in women. Irritation from shaving probably accounts for this.

How do you get warts?
Warts are passed from person to person, sometimes indirectly, with a growth period of several months before becoming noticeable.

Why do some people get warts and others don't?
Some people get warts depending on how often they are exposed to the virus. Wart viruses occur more easily if skin has been damaged in some way, as in children who bite their nails. Some people are just more likely to catch the wart virus than are others. Patients with weakened immune systems are more prone to wart virus infections.

Do warts need to be treated?
In children, warts can disappear without treatment over a period of several months to years. Warts that are bothersome, painful, or multiplying should he treated. Warts in adults often do not disappear as quickly or easily as in children.

How are warts treated?
There are many treatments that your doctor could implement to treat your warts. However, the most effective, proven and safe treatment for warts is the Pulse-Dye LASER therapy.

What is a Pulse-Dye LASER?
The PDL emits a gentle burst of light about 5-7mm in diameter that carefully heats the wart. A fine mist of coolant spray is discharged along with each burst of LASER light to maximize patient comfort.

How does the LASER work?
The Pulse-Dye LASER is designed to heat and seal all blood vessels in the wart verrucae, (the infrastructure of the wart). This causes the supply of nutrients in the blood to be cut off from the virus, thus causing it to be unable to survive and grow. The gentle, but effective burst of light heats the wart tissue and elevates its temperature to, about 70°C, a temperature at which the virus is unable to survive.

What are the advantages of PDL therapy?

  • Consistent results, better than 90% response to 6 treatments or less.
  • Short treatment courses compared to traditional, methods. PDL therapy is very short and convenient, 4-6 treatments of 10-15 minutes, separated by 2-5 weeks is all that is required to eliminate most warts.
  • Minimal discomfort as the PDL implements a Dynamic Cooling Device that sprays a fine mist of Cryogen a split second prior to the LASER beam. No anesthesia or injection is required with the PDL.
  • No down time necessary as most patients resume normal activities immediately after being treated with the PDL.
  • Minimal side-effects because the PDL treats only the warts while leaving the surrounding tissue unharmed. In-addition while the wart is being treated, the skin below it is restored to its original texture and color.