RIP HPV

I have never in my life had a problem with warts. Then two and a half years ago I had one randomly pop up on my right thumb. Since then I have tried everything imaginable to get rid of it. I have had it frozen numerous times. I've used aspirin on it. I've used compound W. I've used duct tape therapy. I've taken high dose vitamin C (something I don't really believe in but I tried it any way because I am desperate). I've even had it cut out of my thumb and it came back! This thing is a freak of nature that I have not been able to get rid of.

It troubles me for two reasons. First of all, it is an eye sore. It doesn't hurt, but it is cosmetically troubling. And in a profession where I am putting my hands on people all day, I think my patients would prefer if I didn't have these lesions on my hands. Secondly, they are starting to spread! Within the past few months I've had two more pop up on my right hand. Once I had my insurance switched with my new job, I decided it was time to see a specialist in dermatology.

He suggested surgical excision to remove the lesion. He said that in his experience, freezing warts on the hand didn't work too well. So today I went to his office and had him take a rather large chunk out of my thumb. I am really, really, really hoping this works. If it doesn't, I think I will let him inject me with bleomycin, an anticancer drug used to treat squamous cell carcinoma. If that fails, I might amputate. But I am really hoping this surgery works. I am tired of looking at this ugly thing.

Below is what my thumb looked like today after he was finished with it. Make sure you are ready to see it. It is a bit graphic and gross.










About HPV (off the top of my head):

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus that infects mucous membrane epithelium and skin. There are several types (maybe 100??) and depending on the type the infection can be quite dangerous. The most notorious types are 16 and 18. When females are infected with these and certain other strands of HPV, it turns their pap smear abnormal. If the infection is aggressive, it can lead to squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. The strands that cause skin warts (verrucae) are different than the sexually transmitted strands that cause cervical cancer, so they usually do not transform into cancer. However the dermatologist said in his career he has had one that was squamous cell cancer, so he sent mine to pathology to be tested. Warts are notoriously difficult to get rid of. They often resolve on their own and don't need other therapy, but when they are resistant to your body's immune system they can be quite difficult to take care of.