CO2 laser treatment for plantar warts in children: A case series

Abstract

Several types of human papillomaviruses induce warts. Warts are one of the most common infections in childhood with a reported prevalence of up to 20%. Warts are divided clinically into genital and nongenital forms. Plantar warts are common nongenital warts. In this series, five pediatric cases treated with CO2 laser for their plantar warts are presented. One patient was a known case of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Three of our patients had history of unsuccessful treatments with other modalities, while the other had received no previous treatment. CO2 laser with continuous mode (focused and defocused) was used. In our cases, only one session was enough for clearance of the warts. All the patients were visited 1 week and 3 months after treatment to assess the efficacy and any possible recurrences. Follow-up showed that all the patients remained in remission up to 3 months posttreatment with no adverse events.