Wart Removal London – Fast Relief

Wart Removal in London in London

At Harley Street Medics in London, we offer safe and effective skin tag removal with minimal discomfort and downtime—restoring clear, smooth skin with expert care.

Understanding Warts

Warts are benign skin growths caused by infection of the skin with certain strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV). The virus triggers excess keratin production, forming a rough, hard lump of skin. Warts can appear anywhere on the body, but they most commonly develop on the hands and feet. When a wart occurs on the sole of the foot, it is often called a verruca (plantar wart). While warts are contagious through direct or indirect contact, the risk of transmission is generally low – prolonged skin contact or shared damp surfaces (like communal showers or swimming pools) increase the chances of spread.

Types of Warts

There are several types of warts, classified by their appearance and location:

Common warts (Verruca vulgaris): Round or irregular, raised warts with a rough (“warty”) surface. They often occur on the hands, fingers, knees, and other areas prone to minor injuries. Common warts are usually skin-colored on light skin, but may appear darker on darker skin. They often have a characteristic pattern of black dots (clotted blood vessels) inside the wart’s core. Common warts are generally painless but can bleed or hurt if knocked.
Plantar warts (Verrucas): Warts on the soles of the feet or toes. Because they are pressed into the foot by body weight, verrucas tend to be flat or inward-growing, often with a thick callus over them. They may have tiny black dots in the center and can be painful when walking. Plantar warts sometimes form mosaic warts, which are clusters of small warts packed together in a mosaic pattern on the heel or ball of the foot.
Flat warts (Plane warts): Smaller, smoother, flat-topped warts (often yellowish or brown). They tend to grow in larger numbers (dozens or more) on the face, backs of hands, or shins. Flat warts are usually not as raised or rough as common warts; they can spread by shaving or scratching, appearing in lines on the skin.
Filiform warts: Long, slender, finger-like warts that protrude from the skin. These often appear on the face (around the eyelids, lips, or neck). Filiform warts are generally harmless but can be fast-growing and noticeable due to their projecting shape.
Periungual warts: Warts that occur around the fingernails or toenails. They may look like thick, irregular skin around the nail edge and can disturb nail growth. Periungual warts are more common in people who bite their nails.

Genital warts: Warts on the genital or anal area, caused by different strains of HPV. Note: Genital warts are managed separately in sexual health clinics (they are outside the scope of standard skin wart treatments

GALLERY

Who gets warts?

Warts can affect anyone, but they are especially common in teenagers, since their immune systems are still developing recognition of HPV. Indeed, about 1 in 3 young people have warts at any given time. Overall, an estimated 1 in 10 people in the UK has a wart at any one time. Other at-risk groups include those with a weakened immune system (for example, people on immunosuppressive medication or with conditions like HIV) – they tend to get more numerous and persistent warts. Skin injuries or chronic skin conditions that disrupt the protective barrier (such as eczema or frequent biting of nails) can also raise susceptibility.

Warts Removal Methods

When it comes to removing warts, medical professionals use several safe and effective techniques. In the UK, common clinical removal methods include cryotherapy (freezing), Surgical excision (cutting off), and laser Treatment.

Cryotherapy uses extreme cold (usually liquid nitrogen at about –196°C) to freeze and destroy the wart tissue. In a clinic setting, the doctor or nurse applies liquid nitrogen to the wart using a spray or a cotton bud applicator. Each freeze lasts a few seconds (often around 5–30 seconds per wart). The goal is to freeze the wart and a small rim of surrounding tissue, causing an ice-ball to form and subsequently killing the infected cells. Within a few days after freezing, the wart usually blisters or scabs and then falls off over the next week or two as the skin heals.

Typical course: Warts often require multiple cryotherapy sessions. Treatments are usually repeated every 2–3 weeks, with around 4–6 sessions commonly needed for complete removal. Stubborn warts may need more sessions, whereas some small warts might clear after just one or two freezes.
Pain and side effects: Cryotherapy can be painful for a short time during application – patients often feel a sharp stinging or burning sensation while the area is being frozen and as it thaws. It’s common for a blister to form afterward, and the treated area can be sore for a few days. Because it can be quite uncomfortable (and occasionally can cause blistering or temporary skin discoloration), cryotherapy is generally not recommended for people with very poor circulation (who may heal more slowly or risk tissue damage).
Downtime: Little to no downtime is required. Patients can usually resume normal activities immediately, although if a blister forms it should be kept clean and covered. The blister dries into a scab which falls off by itself. Healing typically occurs within one to two weeks. There is a slight risk of scarring or infection, but in healthy individuals this is minimal if the area is cared for.
Pros: Cryotherapy is a quick procedure (each session only takes a few minutes) and is widely used by GPs and dermatologists. It does not usually require anesthesia. When successful, it causes the wart to slough off, and the skin can regrow normally. It’s a clinically proven first-line treatment – evidence suggests freezing can help clear warts faster than doing nothing.

Cons: A major drawback is the need for multiple sessions spaced over several weeks; patients must attend repeated appointments and persistence is required. The treatment can be painful and may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, cryotherapy does not always work – some warts are resilient. Studies indicate that cryotherapy’s cure rates are roughly on par with strong salicylic acid wart paints, and cryo isn’t definitively superior. Thick plantar warts may respond poorly, as it’s hard to freeze deep enough before the pain becomes intolerable. If the wart is not completely eradicated, it can recur or regrow from residual infected tissue.

Laser therapy for warts involves using an intense, focused beam of light to ablate (destroy) the wart tissue or to target the wart’s blood supply. Several types of lasers are used in the UK for wart removal, most commonly carbon dioxide (CO₂) lasers and pulsed-dye lasers (PDL), and in some cases other lasers like Nd:YAG:

A CO₂ laser is an ablative laser that literally vaporizes the wart layer by layer. It acts like an extremely precise burning tool, under the control of the doctor. CO₂ lasers also cauterize blood vessels as they work, so bleeding is minimal. This method can remove the entire wart in one session. It is often used for difficult warts (e.g. thick mosaic plantar warts or periungual warts) because the doctor can carefully remove tissue until no more wart is seen. Local anaesthetic injection is used, since ablative laser treatment would be painful otherwise. After laser ablation, a wound is left where the wart was, and it will take a couple of weeks to heal much like a surgical excision wound.
Pulsed-Dye Laser (PDL) is a non-ablative laser that targets hemoglobin in blood. It selectively clots off the tiny blood vessels feeding the wart, starving it of blood. This causes the wart to eventually die and fall off. PDL is usually used for smaller warts on hands, arms, legs, etc., and is less useful for thick plantar warts (which have deeper blood supply). PDL treatment feels like a quick rubber-band snap on the skin; it can be a bit sore but often does not require anesthetic for small lesions. The treated area may bruise or scab lightly but generally doesn’t result in an open wound.
Other lasers: Some specialists use an Nd:YAG laser (a deep-penetrating laser) for very thick plantar warts. This laser can reach deeper layers of skin. One approach described by a laser surgeon is to use Nd:YAG on a numb wart (with local anesthetic) to coagulate it through its full thickness, then one week later the dead wart tissue is peeled away. This two-stage process can effectively clear tough verrucae. Nd:YAG and CO₂ lasers are typically reserved for stubborn cases that failed simpler treatments.

Pain and anesthesia: For any laser that involves significant tissue destruction (CO₂, Nd:YAG), a local anesthetic injection will be given to completely numb the area before the procedure. This makes the actual laser treatment painless. After the anesthetic wears off, the wound can be sore, so pain management is similar to that of a minor surgical procedure (covering the wound, and taking analgesics if needed). Pulsed-dye laser, on the other hand, usually causes only mild discomfort and often is done without anesthesia for superficial warts.

Downtime and aftercare: The downtime depends on the type of laser. CO₂ laser removal leaves a raw wound that may take 1–3 weeks to fully heal, especially on weight-bearing foot areas. During this period, keeping the area clean and bandaged is important to prevent infection. Patients are advised to minimize pressure or trauma to the site (e.g. if on the foot, wearing cushioned shoes and limiting intense activity until healed). Pulsed-dye laser has minimal downtime – the site might be slightly swollen or discolored for a few days but generally one can continue normal activities. The risk of scarring depends on depth: ablative laser can cause a scar (similar to surgical scar), whereas PDL usually does not scar but may temporarily pigment the skin. In expert hands, laser ablation can precisely limit damage to healthy skin, potentially reducing scar size.

Surgical wart removal refers to physically cutting the wart out of the skin. There are a couple of surgical techniques: excisional surgery (using a scalpel to cut out the wart) and curettage with electrocautery (scraping the wart off and burning the base). These procedures are typically done under local anesthetic in a minor surgery setting.

Excisional Surgery: The wart and a small margin of surrounding tissue are surgically excised (cut out) with a scalpel or a punch tool. Stitches may be needed if a large area is removed. This method ensures the bulk of the wart is removed in one go and is sometimes chosen if there is uncertainty whether the lesion is a wart or something else (so that the tissue can be sent to pathology). However, excision creates a deeper wound and a scar. Surgeons usually avoid excising common warts unless absolutely necessary, because cutting doesn’t guarantee the virus is eliminated and the trauma could potentially seed new warts in the scar. As one specialist notes, some patients assume cutting a wart out is the surest cure, but in reality “recurrence is possible even in excisional surgery”. Thus, excision is often reserved for cases where other treatments failed or for diagnostic reasons.
Curettage and Electrocautery: This method (often called electrosurgery) is a bit less invasive. First, the area is numbed with local anesthetic. Then the wart is scooped or pared down with a sharp curette (a spoon-shaped surgical instrument). Any remaining wart tissue or base is then burned with an electrocautery device (an electric needle or hyfrecator) to destroy cells and coagulate blood vessels. The heat seals the area, so bleeding is minimal, and it also destroys any small fragments of wart tissue, aiming to prevent regrowth. This approach is useful for small warts and those in areas like the face where precision is needed. The resulting wound is usually shallow (the size of the wart) and is left to heal naturally (sometimes a light dressing is applied). Over 1–2 weeks it will scab and new skin will form. Curettage with cautery is relatively quick and effective for appropriate lesions.

Pain and healing: During the procedure, pain is prevented by a local anesthetic injection. After the procedure, once the anesthetic wears off, the area may be sore. Over-the-counter pain relief is usually sufficient. The downtime is similar to that of laser ablation: one must keep the wound clean and covered, and if the wart was on the foot or another area subject to friction, activity might need to be limited for a couple of days. Healing time depends on the size and location of the wound – small shave removals might heal in a week, larger excisions could take 2–3 weeks. Scarring is a notable risk; any time you cut or burn the skin deeply, a scar will form, though often it fades over time. On thick skin (palms/soles) the scar might be not too noticeable, but on thinner skin it could be visible. There’s also a small risk of infection (as with any minor surgery), so proper wound care is important.

Pros: Surgical removal offers an immediate physical removal of the wart. The clinician has direct visualization – they can ensure the visible wart is gone. It can be a one-time treatment for that wart (no repeated visits for the same lesion). If there’s any doubt about the diagnosis, excision allows for laboratory analysis to confirm it was a benign wart. Electrosurgery is highly effective for small and accessible warts, with the heat helping to kill virus-infected tissue on the spot. These methods are often used for warts that have not responded to conservative measures, or for functionally troublesome warts (for example, a wart interfering with nail growth might be surgically removed so the nail can recover).

Comparing Treatment Options

The table below provides a comparison of key treatment methods, highlighting how they work, typical pain levels, downtime, and other considerations:

Method	How It Works	Best For	Pain Level	Recovery Time	Advantages	Considerations
Cryotherapy (Freezing)	Freezes the wart with liquid nitrogen	Common warts, multiple areas	Mild to moderate sting	7–10 days	Quick, widely available, effective for most warts	May require multiple treatments; risk of blistering
Electrosurgery (Cauterisation)	Burns and destroys wart tissue with electric current	Stubborn or deep warts	Mild (with anaesthetic)	3–5 days	Immediate results, precise targeting	Mild scabbing; clinic-based procedure
Excision (Surgical Removal)	Cuts out the wart with a scalpel under local anaesthetic	Single, large, or resistant warts	None (with local anaesthetic)	5–7 days	Complete removal, tissue can be sent for biopsy	Small scarring risk; minor surgery required

Why Wait? Start Your Wart-Free Life Today

Why Choose Harley Street Medics for wart Removal in London

At Harley Street Medics, we combine clinical excellence with patient-first care to deliver seamless wart removal in London. Here’s why hundreds of patients trust us:

CQC-Registered Clinic in Harley Street

Receive care in a strictly regulated, medically approved environment.

Experienced Medical Professionals

Procedures are performed by trained doctors or clinical staff using best-practice protocols.

Quick and Comfortable Treatments

Many cases are treated same-day, with minimal discomfort and immediate results.

Customised Approach

We assess your skin and recommend the most suitable treatment option for your unique needs.

Cosmetic Precision

We understand aesthetics. Our approach ensures minimal scarring, especially in visible or delicate areas.

Transparent Pricing & Aftercare

No hidden charges. We provide complete aftercare instructions and support until you're fully healed.

WARTS REMOVAL PRICING

Treatments	Price
Cryotherapy	From £149 for 1st wart
Additional warts	From £59
Laser	From £199 for 1st wart
Additional warts	From £99
Excision	From £199 for 1st wart
Additional warts	From £99
Specialised Laser/Wart Excision	From £299 for 1st wart
Additional warts	From £99
Cluster Wart	From £495
Warts upto 10	£999

FAQ's

How long does wart removal take to heal?

Healing usually takes 1 to 2 weeks, depending on the removal method. Minor redness or scabbing is normal and fades as the skin recovers.

What should I expect after wart removal?

After treatment, you may experience mild swelling, redness, or a scab at the site. Keeping the area clean and dry helps ensure smooth healing.

How long do you leave on a wart removal band-aid?

If using over-the-counter treatments, band-aids are typically left on for 24 to 48 hours, but always follow the specific product instructions or your clinician’s advice.

How much does wart removal cost in London?

Prices vary by clinic and method, but professional wart removal at Harley Street Medics in London generally starts from £100 to £250 per session.

How to treat a burn from wart removal?

Apply a cool compress, keep the area clean, and use fragrance-free moisturiser. Avoid picking or scratching, and consult a doctor if it worsens.

Are wart removal treatments safe during pregnancy?

Most treatments like cryotherapy are considered safe, but it’s essential to consult your doctor before starting any wart removal during pregnancy.

How to get rid of scars after wart removal?

Use gentle scar-reducing creams or silicone gels, avoid sun exposure, and follow post-treatment instructions to minimise the chance of scarring.

Are there any side effects of wart removal?

Minor discomfort, redness, or temporary dark spots may occur. Serious side effects are rare when performed by a qualified specialist.

Will the wart come back after removal?

While treated warts are usually gone for good, HPV may still be present, so new warts can appear. Follow-up care reduces recurrence risk.