Warts on the foot (verruca or plantar warts) are noncancerous growths, caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), that develop on the soles of the feet. They can be successfully treated using a pulsed dye laser, which is especially effective on large warts that have grown internally, or spread to form a pattern of numerous warts.
For some patients, a local anesthetic is applied to the treatment area to numb it. The laser then precisely targets the blood vessels within the wart, which keeps nearby tissue from being harmed. The laser uses intense light energy delivered in rapid pulses to heat the capillaries that provide the wart's blood supply. This causes the blood vessels to seal, destroying the tissue within the wart. The number of treatments necessary varies depending upon several factors, including the size of the warts and how many there are. Frequently, the warts are eliminated within one to five laser sessions.