HOW DOES SWIFT VERRUCA TREATMENT WORK?
Historically, verruca treatment has been a long, painful and unreliable process. At the Surrey Verruca Clinic in Epsom, verruca treatment is now quicker, more precise and doesn’t break the surface of the skin.
With short treatment times, Swift microwave technology provides an effective way of treating skin lesions. Microwave energy rapidly elevates tissue temperature and creates localised cell changes at exactly the right skin depth.
Watch the video below to see how Swift treatment works for verrucas. You can also read feedback and testimonials from patients we have helped.
Please contact our clinic in Epsom if you have any questions, or you can book an appointment online.
WHY IS SWIFT SO MUCH QUICKER THAN OTHER VERRUCA TREATMENTS?
The use of microwave energy is what makes a Swift treatment so quick. Swift delivers a precise, highly controlled energy dose to a predetermined depth into the skin. The latter part is crucial and is what sets Swift apart from traditional verruca treatments.
As microwaves travel, they don’t break the surface of the skin or destroy tissue from the point of application like Cryotherapy, Salicylic Acid or Laser. As soon as the Swift verruca treatment begins, microwaves are working within that defined field — and no deeper.
Water molecules within the tissue begin colliding and creating localised heat energy, quickly treating all infected tissue within that area. The graphics below highlight the targeted zone within which treatment takes place.
Infected Tissue
Infected tissue can exist several millimetres below the surface and can often be difficult to treat using traditional methods of verruca treatment, resulting in either untreated tissue or significant damage.
Precise & Highly Controlled
Swift delivers a precise, highly controlled energy dose. As microwaves travel into the tissue, water molecules begin colliding and creating localised heat energy – quickly treating all infected tissue within a predetermined depth.
Replaced, Repaired & Regenerated
In just a few seconds the treatment is complete and the healing cascade begins immediately. Treated tissue is quickly replaced, repaired and regenerated.
“I attended the clinic in Epsom after developing a verruca on my heel. It was extremely painful and had started affecting the way I walked. After trying over-the-counter creams for a few months it wasn’t budging!
The podiatrist spoke to me about the option of Swift® verruca treatment. I was initially hesitant as it is quite expensive, but as I am on my feet most of the day for work, it was necessary that I got it sorted out.
It is not the most pleasant experience, but even after the first verruca treatment I noticed a difference. By the third treatment my verruca had disappeared and it has not reappeared, thank goodness!”
THE TREATMENT PROCESS
Clinical research suggests most verrucas resolve after 4 treatments. Simple, effective and “swift”.
Week 1
During your first appointment, your podiatrist may lightly reduce the verruca with a blade before applying 3 to 5 short bursts of Swift microwave therapy (each lasting just a few seconds).
This quickly raises the temperature within the skin without breaking the surface, which means no blisters, no padding and no scarring. It is not uncommon to feel a sharp, hot sensation during treatment but unlike most verruca treatments, any discomfort subsides quickly afterwards.
Week 4
Your second appointment will usually take place four weeks later. Some patients notice dark bruising beneath the skin after the first treatment, but the verruca may appear the same size. This is normal. Swift works by reducing the depth of the verruca first, rather than the width. Your podiatrist will explain what to expect but most patients report a similar sensation to their first visit.
Week 8
Your third appointment is usually four weeks after that. Your podiatrist will review your progress and advise whether further treatment is needed.
Week 12
Your fourth appointment will often be your last, though your podiatrist will give specific advice based on how your verruca has responded.
Review
Your podiatrist will typically allow a further six to eight weeks for your body to complete its immune response and finish the healing process. By this stage, you should feel little or no discomfort and your normal skin should be returning in the area where the verruca was.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND THIS UNIQUE VERRUCA TREATMENT
When it comes to verrucas, many people ask why some verruca will disappear on their own, and others require months or years of continual treatment? To answer this question, we need to focus on what causes verrucas and why they are so difficult to treat using the traditional freezing and acid methods.
WHAT CAUSES VERRUCAS?
There are 150 genotypically different types of Human papillomavirus (HPV) and 7 common strains that cause warts and verrucas. Spontaneous resolution and response to verruca treatment depends on many variables, including age, length of time the verruca has been present, where the wart is on the body, and the type of HPV.
The HPV virus creates a microenvironment in the skin that encourages the survival and reproduction of the virus, effectively hiding its existence from the body’s immune system.
There is clinical evidence showing the longer the infection has persisted, the poorer the cure rate. Verrucas that arise on the feet in particular are difficult to resolve. Statistics tell us that 42% of verrucas will disappear within 6 months, but if the condition persists for longer than 6 months, the chances of the virus clearing up without treatment drop to just 8%.
While warts and verrucas are not life-threatening, they do cause pain that can limit activities, and they can spread across the hands, feet, and to other areas of the body. This leaves the many long-standing sufferers in the UK with limited options for successful verruca removal.
Liquid nitrogen and acid treatment have been clinically proven to be a poor solution for verruca patients, with a clearance rate of just 23-33%. Liquid nitrogen destroys verruca tissue by freezing, while acid treatment is a form of chemical destruction. The aim of these treatments is to destroy the verruca; lasers, radiofrequency and the majority of other treatments available seek to do the same. The treatments begin at the surface and continue until sufficient depth is reached causing blistering, lasting pain, and risk of scarring. From a clinical research perspective, all of these verruca treatment methods show low efficacy in clinical studies and trials.
The key to effectively treating verruca is to trigger the body’s own immune response, rather than simply destroying the infected tissue. Independent clinical research has shown microwave treatment activates the appropriate immune signalling pathways in the body, alerting the immune system to the presence of the verruca and clearing the infected tissue.
Independent clinical research was published in the European Journal of Dermatology – read the full paper, including the research on immune pathways, here.
Verrucas Before Swift® Treatment
