repair. Bleomycin, a more potent chemotherapy drug, can be injected into deep warts, destroying the viral DNA or RNA. Bleomycin is notably not US FDA approved for this purpose. Possible side effects include necrosis of the digits, nail loss, and Raynaud syndrome. The usual treatment is one or two injections. Immunotherapy, as intralesional injection of antigens (mumps, candida or trichophytin antigens USP), is a wart treatment that may trigger a host immune response to the wart virus, resulting in wart resolution. It is now recommended as a second-line therapy. Surgery Liquid nitrogen and similar cryosurgery methods are common surgical treatments, which act by freezing the external cell structure of the warts, destroying the live tissue. Electrodesiccation and surgical excision may produce scarring. Laser surgery is generally a last resort treatment, as it is expensive and painful, but may be necessary for large, hard-to-cure warts. Cauterization may be effective as a prolonged treatment. As a short-term treatment, cauterization of the base with anesthetic can be effective, but this method risks scarring or keloids. Subsequent surgical removal, if necessary, also risks keloids and/or recurrence in the operative scar. References External links Plantar warts at the Mayo Clinic website Warts at Merck Manual Virus-related cutaneous conditions Foot diseases Papillomavirus-associated diseases Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate