Wart that won’t heal

This was not the first time we treated Ernesto at a consultation. And judging by his very clear skin type, advanced age and long exposure to the sun, this case was certainly not the last, because otherwise our patient was in excellent health. 82 years old, hypertension, history of actinic keratosis and incidental basal cell carcinoma, which was operated on. While we were treating the actinic keratosis on his forehead with cryotherapy, Ernesto asked us if we could look at the “wart” he had on his finger. In fact, he had been with her for many years and had not paid much attention to her. So little that he forgot to mention it during his last visits. The pharmacy recommended a keratolytic medication, which he tried to take religiously for a month, but it did not help him and he eventually stopped taking it. But today the stars aligned, and the wart and the dermatologist found themselves on the same space-time plane, so it was our turn to comment on the problem.

The image shows a formation located on the pad of the third finger of the right hand, with more or less clear edges, not pigmented and not ulcerated, as well as a more hyperkeratotic center, approximately 1 cm in diameter. The nail was not damaged, there was nothing similar on the other fingers.

What should we do with Ernesto and his finger? Does this look like a wart to you? Or will it be something else? Let’s cure him and see what happens? Or should we do a biopsy?

On Wednesday I will tell you what happened to this patient of our colleague Ignacio Torne, who kindly provided us with images that will begin this month in November. Today we say goodbye to Scotland.