This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Plane warts

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

  • flesh coloured or pigmented, well-defined, very slightly raised, flat-topped lesions
  • the surface of a plane wart is smooth or very slightly roughened
  • plane warts may occur anywhere but especially occur on the hands, limbs and face
  • plane warts may be misdiagnosed, especially on the face, where they are liable to be treated with topical steroids, in which case they spread
  • they may exhibit the Koebner phenomenon - occur in lines corresponding to scratch or other such trauma

Management:

  • seek expert advice
  • do not respond well to topical preparations
  • in general, eventually disappear spontaneously and lesions on the limbs are often best ignored
  • facial lesions may be treated with topical freezing techniques such as liquid nitrogen (used by an experienced practitioner for a short exposure). Salicylic acid (cream) and curettage and light cautery are other options (1)
  • post-inflammatory pigmentation may occur in patients with pigmented skin and may take months to resolve

Reference:


Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.