Microwave verruca therapy for Shrewsbury

Rigorous testing of the treatment, developed in the UK by Swift, has shown it to be one of the most effective ways to treat stubborn verrucae.

Microwave verruca therapy also has big advantages over conventional treatments. It is quick, clean, and does not need the application of any acids, bandages, or pain relief.

AJB Footcare, based in Market Drayton, Shropshire, is one of the first foot care specialists in the UK to offer the new treatment.

Its clinic is currently the nearest Swift microwave verruca treatment centre to Shrewsbury, and welcomes patients from that area.

Podiatrist Andrew Booth, at AJB Footcare, says: “Microwave therapy is a very impressive new generation treatment for verrucae. We’re convinced it delivers many real benefits for our patients with verrucae.

We’re very pleased to be able to offer it to our patients throughout the Midlands and North West of England, including Shrewsbury. We’re already getting excellent results.”

Verrucae are created by a virus. Most people have a natural immune response to the virus, which protects the body against infection. However, for some people, this immune response is not so effective. This means they are more likely to develop verrucae.

Swift microwave verruca therapy is designed to work by helping to sensitise your body’s natural immune response to the verruca virus.

Precise delivery

Swift verruca therapy allows our trained footcare specialists to deliver highly-focussed microwave energy through a hand-held probe. The energy reaches a depth of no more than 5mm. Because the treatment is so precise, surrounding skin tissue remains unaffected.

 

Treatment for feet and hands

Microwave verruca treatment is effective on hands as well as feet. The therapy can be used to treat clusters of verrucae, just as easily as single ones. Also, the treatment can be applied to more than one part of the body during the same session, so treatment can be completed as quickly as possible.

Swift microwave verruca treatment does not have many of the disadvantages associated with conventional verruca treatment. Central to this is the reduction in pain experienced by many patients during and after treatment.

For example, there is:

• No need for acid treatment
• No need to freeze the verrucae
• No need to use anaesthetics, or after-care pain killers
• No need to apply dressings after treatment.

Patients appreciate reduced pain

Conventional verruca treatments – including acid treatment and verruca freezing – can cause significant pain and discomfort both during and after treatment.

This is not the case with Swift microwave therapy, something that patients have welcomed about the treatment.

As the microwave therapy is applied, there can be a sharp scratch-like irritation. But as each application lasts just two seconds, this is a momentary feeling of discomfort.

Any such pain – if it is felt – does not continue once the microwave application is finished, and the probe is removed from the surface of the verruca.

In our opinion as highly-experienced footcare specialists, Swift microwave therapy is the most effective verruca treatment currently available.

As mentioned, it also has significant advantaged in terms of pain relief, plus speed and ease of application.

Independent clinical trials, carried out by Dr Ivan Bristow, of the University of Southampton, has demonstrated success rates of 76%, which is impressive.

Further research by the University of Southampton has shed light on how the therapy works. The studies point to the microwaves inducing an immune response to verrucae.

This then helps body’s natural defences to attack the virus, and remove it from the skin. Those people with a low immune response to the verruca virus, are able, for the first time, to resist the virus effectively.

Most patients need to attend our clinic two or three times for microwave verruca treatment to be completed.

However, more treatments may be needed if a verruca has been present for a long time, or it has grown particularly large.

We can advise you about how many treatment sessions we expect you will need when we have had a chance to carry out a full examination during your first visit to our clinic.

How is microwave therapy applied?

The treatment for each verruca involves five separate applications of microwave therapy. Each application lasts just two seconds.

Unlike with conventional treatment, no dressings are needed after each application. This is because the microwaves do not break and disrupt skin tissue.

Subsequent microwave therapy sessions are usually scheduled to take place every two to three weeks.

No disruption to everyday activities

Microwave verruca therapy is effective, gentle, and very convenient for our patients. This is demonstrated by the fact that you can return to normal daily activity straight after treatment.

This can include taking part in a full range of sports – or, as the therapy starts to work – to resume activity that might not have been possible up to then.

How quickly does the verruca go?

It may take a few days for you to notice a difference after the first microwave therapy session.

The first signs that the treatment is taking effect is often a discolouration of the verruca.

Over the next few weeks, it should gradually shrink in size, as the body’s immune response takes effect. As this happens, healthy skin grows into the previously-infected area.

All this happens without causing any pain.

Eight weeks after your last treatment, we carry out a formal review to assess progress made.

A 73-year-old man who suffered with a verruca and warts on his hand for at least 11 years has had his life transformed by Swift microwave therapy delivered by AJB Footcare.

In 2015, we treated his verruca with four courses of cryotherapy, with no discernible improvement. The verruca grew further during 2016, during which time the patient received routine treatment to reduce the pain he was suffering.

In July 2017, the patient had his first Swift microwave verruca treatment on the verruca and the warts, followed by two further treatments over eight weeks. Since then, it has taken just over four months to move from picture 1 to the progress in picture 2, see right, for both the verruca and the warts on the patient’s finger.

For the first time in many years, the patient does not feel pain. He is no longer ashamed to show his feet, and his relatives are no longer worried about the impact of the verruca on his wellbeing.

AJB Footware Podiatrist Andrew Booth said: “These are fantastic results. They demonstrate perfectly the potential positive benefits of microwave verruca therapy compared with conventional treatments.”

Microwaves have been used for clinical treatment for many years.

Rigorous clinical trials have proved Swift microwave therapy to be both effective and safe.

The treatment has been approved for use under the Medical Devices Directive (MDD).

Evidence, both in terms of clinical trials and patient experience, strongly indicates there is less risk of healthy tissue being damaged by this new treatment than by others verruca therapies. These include laser treatment, salicylic acid, and cryotherapy.

At AJB Footcare, the treatment is carried out by qualified footcare specialists, who are trained to use the equipment, and advise patients about their treatment plan.

We want our patients to be happy, fully-informed and confident about the treatment they receive at all times.

AJB Footcare is a long-established and well-respected foot health service in Market Drayton, Shropshire.

We are leaders in podiatry innovation. This is why we were keen to be among the first in the UK to offer a treatment like Swift verruca therapy.

We could see that it provides our verruca patients with many benefits.

Thanks to our location, we are well-placed to deliver microwave verruca treatment to people in Shrewsbury, and across Shropshire, Cheshire, and Staffordshire.

AJB Footcare is owned and managed by a husband and wife team, Andrew and Jill Booth.

They already attract patients for a range of services from across these three counties, many of them referred by local GPs, who know and trust the care they provide.

Their reputation for therapeutic excellence and patient care within the clinical community, including GPs and nursing homes, is second to none.

For two treatments at our clinic, the cost is £250. If additional treatments are needed, they will be charged at £75 per treatment.

If you want to know more about Swift microwave verruca therapy for patients in Shrewsbury, contact AJB Footcare. We would be happy to answer any further questions you may have.

To discuss your treatment needs, or to book an appointment, call us on 01630 656792.