If you’ve been dealing with plantar warts that keep returning, traditional treatment options such as cryotherapy may not be able to resolve your lesions. For that reason, we offer an advanced treatment option in our Massapequa podiatry practice: SWIFT Therapy.
This plantar wart treatment uses microwave energy to heat cells around your wart, uncovering the HPV virus that caused the infection in the first place. Once that happens, your immune system is able to recognize and fight that virus, resolving your wart over the course of your SWIFT treatment. Typically, warts will resolve after three to four SWIFT sessions, with each session spaced apart by about four weeks. (Stubborn or multiple warts may require an extended treatment course.)
While SWIFT therapy is an effective plantar wart treatment option, even for stubborn lesions, it’s not recommended for everyone. In this post, we’ll help you decide if you’re a good candidate for SWIFT therapy by reviewing its safety profile and any counter-indications for seeking treatment with Dr. Mark Gasparini and Dr. Novneet Chhabra, the Foot Specialists of Long Island.
Are You a Good Candidate for Swift Therapy? ![A foot with a plantar wart]()
SWIFT therapy is a non-invasive, effective treatment for even stubborn or recalcitrant plantar warts.
Good candidates for this therapy will:
- Have unresolved plantar warts, or lesions that return after traditional treatments
- Experience pain with movement due to warts
- Wish to avoid invasive treatments that can cause damage to the healthy tissue surrounding the lesions.
Most people can be good candidates for SWIFT therapy, even patients with diabetes. It is a great treatment option if you want faster results with reduced down time, and without the need to dress a wound site or to follow complex aftercare instructions. However, not every individual can undergo SWIFT therapy. For that reason, our Nassau County podiatrists always review your medical history carefully before allowing you to move forward with a SWIFT course of treatment.
Who is Not a SWIFT Candidate?
SWIFT therapy’s safety and efficacy for most patients has been scientifically proven, but this study also helped identify factors that would rule you out as a SWIFT therapy candidate. If you:
- Have an implanted pacemaker or other medical device, avoid SWIFT treatment—the microwave energy could interfere with device function, threatening your general wellbeing.
You should also avoid SWIFT therapy if you have a metal implant anywhere near the prospective treatment site. Women who are pregnant and/or breastfeeding are not considered good candidates for SWIFT. Having peripheral neuropathy or compromised circulation would also exclude you from SWIFT candidacy. And we generally recommend alternative plantar wart treatment options for patients younger than five years of age.
Having a suppressed immune system could also make SWIFT therapy less effective, so we could have to carefully review your candidacy before recommending this treatment option. We also carefully consider the candidacy of any patient who is younger than 10 years of age to ensure that treatment will remain effective and comfortable.
Determining SWIFT Candidacy with Your Podiatrists in Nassau County
Most patients who come into our Long Island podiatry practice ate good candidates for SWIFT therapy, even if they’ve failed to respond to other plantar wart treatment options. But, because every patient has a unique background and health profile, it’s important to personally discuss your candidacy before determining your best course of treatment. Ready to resolve those stubborn plantar warts with a treatment option that delivers a recurrence rate of less than 1%? We’re here to make sure that choosing SWIFT microwave therapy will be a safe and effective solution to your stubborn plantar wart problem. To get started today, just reach out to our team by calling us at 516-804-9038 or by following this link to request a consultation. When you come into the office, we’ll conduct a comprehensive exam, including a full medical history, to safely determine if you’re a good candidate for SWIFT therapy on Long Island.