SWIFT wart removal
SWIFT microwave therapy is cleaner, faster and more effective at plantar wart removal
The revolutionary SWIFT microwave therapy system has an 83% success rate for complete removal of plantar warts (verruca lesions). The treatment, which takes mere seconds, applies microwaves to the wart to kill it.
Most warts are removed within just three treatments.
Safe, fast and as painless as possible
This new and innovative treatment has been rigorously tested in the UK to ensure the highest possible levels of patient safety. It delivers microwaves to an exact depth, creating a very precise zone of heat which kills the wart.
- Because very little surrounding tissue is affected, patient discomfort is kept to an absolute minimum.
- At just a few seconds per wart, treatment time is extremely short.
- There is no burning of the warts, eliminating the health hazards associated with smoke.
- No follow-up action is required of the patient.
Microwaves agitate water molecules within skin cells without causing damage to DNA. SWIFT microwaves penetrate only to a predetermined depth with no lateral splay of energy and they don’t break the surface of the skin like other treatments can. SWIFT microwave therapy also facilitates the immune system to recognise and fight the HPV virus that causes the warts.
Case study from SWIFT trials
Below: this patient had a severely anhidrotic verruca lesion on the left plantolateral heel with significant deep fissuring. After commencing a series of three SWIFT treatments, the lesion was completely cleared within 12 weeks.
Common questions about SWIFT wart removal
A standard SWIFT treatment regime is 3 sessions, 4 weeks apart. Throughout the course of the treatment, you should notice an improvement of the wart. Complete resolution usually happens around 6 to 12 weeks after the final treatment.
More sessions may be necessary depending on the age and number of the wart(s), the strength of your immune system etc.
During a treatment session, the SWIFT applicator is placed directly on each wart, delivering between 5 and 10 bursts of microwaves into the wart tissue at 2-second intervals.
Microwaves sit between radio waves and infrared waves (300MHz to 300GHz) in the electromagnetic spectrum. SWIFT specifically operates at 8GHz. The rapid cyclic waveform of the microwaves agitates the water molecules in skin cells – which have a high water content – generating heat of 42° to 45°C. At this temperature the wart virus goes into a stress response, releasing heat shock proteins.
These proteins are recognised by the immune cells in your epidermis, which signal to the immune system to send cytotoxic T cells to the area. These attach themselves to the infected skin cells and initiate apoptosis – the “programmed cell death” process. This eliminates both the HPV and the infected cells, and the wart starts to disappear.
There is mild discomfort: you may feel heat during the 2-second application, but this quickly dissipates.
It is much more comfortable than other techniques such as cryotherapy (liquid nitrogen) and salicylic acid, where the pain can be quite sharp and stinging.
Due to the stubborn nature of warts, many treatments yield a low success rate. Swift Microwave Therapy has an approximately 83% success rate – by far the most advanced and clinically proven wart treatment.
