Hyfrecation for recalcitrant nongenital warts.
BACKGROUND
Verruca vulgaris is a common skin condition in general practice, which often resolves without treatment. For lesions needing treatment, they often persist despite repeated treatment and become recalcitrant warts. Hyfrecation is a form of electrosurgery which has been used in treating common and recalcitrant warts.


OBJECTIVE
This article describes the history and mechanisms of hyfrecation and also reviews available evidence on the effectiveness of hyfrecation for recalcitrant nongenital warts.


CONCLUSIONS
Hyfrecation provides controlled tissue destruction with carbonized desiccated wounds which are ideal for eradicating recalcitrant warts. A systematic literature search revealed very minimal, if any, good-quality clinical studies that compare the efficacy of hyfrecation against other treatments (i.e., liquid nitrogen) in treating recalcitrant nongenital warts. Other studies reported the benefits of hyfrecation for genital warts. The author illustrates with a case scenario, the benefits of hyfrecation in treating nongenital warts, and thereby, advocates its wider use in general practice.
Department of Family Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Lawrence
L
Leung
Hyfrecation; nongenital warts; recalcitrant warts; treatment