What is genital wart?
Genital warts in the genital area caused by Human Papilloma Virus, whose short name is HPV; It is a disease characterized by swellings seen especially around the penis and anus. It may be small enough to be seen with a magnifying glass or large enough to be seen with the naked eye, or in the form of a bulge. It can sometimes be seen as a cauliflower shape. Warts may rarely disappear on their own, they may remain the same number and shape, or they may increase in number or size.
What is HPV?
HPV viruses belong to the papillomavirus family, have more than 170 subtypes, and approximately half of them are the causative agent of genital warts. The main high-risk HPV types that can cause cancer are 16, 18, 31, 33 and 35. These cancers; Penile, cervical, vulvar, anus (anal) and mouth-throat cancers. The most common high-risk types are types 16 and 18. These two types are responsible for approximately 50% of cervical cancers. HPV types 6 and 11 are non-carcinogenic types that are responsible for more than 90% of anal and genital warts.
How is HPV transmitted?
HPV can be transmitted through infected sexual intercourse (including oral sex) and skin-to-skin contact, with or without visible warts. Apart from this, there is information in the literature that HPV can be transmitted by sharing personal items, baths, saunas, shared toilets, etc.; HPV is generally considered a sexually transmitted disease.
What are the symptoms of HPV and what kind of health problems does it cause in men?
In men or women infected with HPV, symptoms may appear months or years later. For this reason, it is very difficult to determine when the infectious virus was contracted. Even if some men are infected with the HPV virus, it may disappear from the body spontaneously without any symptoms. If HPV persists in the body, it can cause genital warts or some cancers.
HPV can cause warts or some cancers. It is not known exactly why HPV causes health problems in some people but not in others. If you see warts, blisters and wounds in the lower abdomen, penis, skin of the testicles, or anus, be sure to consult the Uropark team.
What is the relationship between HPV and cancer?
HPV-related cancers are not common in men. However, the rate of cancer development in men with weak immune systems and anal warts is higher than in other cases. HPV itself is not cancer, but it can cause cervical, penis, vulva, anus, mouth and throat cancers with the changes it creates at the cellular level. These cancers caused by HPV develop very slowly and sometimes it can take years or even decades to be diagnosed. HPV-related cancers are mostly treatable when diagnosed early.
Is there a test for HPV diagnosis?
For the diagnosis of HPV, the HPV-DNA PCR test is also performed to determine the type of HPV. Routine screening tests are not recommended without any symptoms or findings. However, a personalized approach can be applied due to the physician’s decision or the couple’s concern.
How can we protect ourselves from HPV?
There are two known ways to protect yourself from HPV and HPV-related cancers. The first is vaccination, the second is using condoms during sexual intercourse.
Please get information from my team about HPV vaccine and its timing.
How does HPV affect a couple’s sexual life?
If one of the couples has genital warts, sexual intercourse should be avoided until the wart is removed. Although it is not known how long the contagion continues after the wart is removed; It is accepted that couples can continue their normal sexual lives after a period of 2-4 weeks.
How are genital warts treated?
The goal of treatment is to remove the wart. Warts can sometimes disappear on their own. The number of warts, their size, anatomical location, patient selection, and side effects secondary to treatment come to the fore when choosing treatment. Treatment options can be listed as follows; 1-Electrocauterization (Domain Surgical’s FMXTM), 2-Surgical excision, 3-Cryotherapy, 4-Laser application, 5- Medical treatments. The most commonly applied method among these is cauterization (burning) of each wart. This method is easier and less costly than others. Uropark team recommends cauterization with Domain Surgical’s FMX™ device to its patients as the basic treatment method. You can get information from the Uropark team about other surgical and medical treatment alternatives.
How is genital wart cauterization performed?
This procedure is performed under local (regional) anesthesia using Domain Surgical’s FMX™ device (Figure 2). This device is a product of modern technology and differs from classical cautery devices by the fact that it causes less damage to the tissue adjacent to the wart and leaves fewer scars. In this way, after our patients’ warts are treated, wound healing times are shortened and fewer scars are left.
