HPV Wart

[Freaker]

I have had a wart-like bump on the side of my scrotum for at least 10 years. It is a bit itchy, and is whitish but turns red when i squeeze it. There is no pus, and it is soft and can be squished. It is smooth and round and a bit bigger than the head of a pin. It hasnt really changed in the whole time ive had it.

Could this be HPV warts? Could it have lasted for ten years? Does that mean that my immune system is not fighting hpv like it should and I am more susceptible to high risk HPV like HPV-16?

Thanks

[Bharat Chawda, MD]

Dear Freaker,

If it was smooth, then it wasn’t a wart. I also agree with your doctor that if it was HPV several of them would have been present.

Probably then it was a sebaceous cyst in which case extracting it by giving a nick over the top of it is the usual treatment. However since your doctor has frozen it, let us wait and watch as to how you respond to it.

Hope that this information helps and hope that you will get better soon.

Thank you for using MedHelp's "Ask an Expert" Service, where we feature some of world's renowned medical experts in their fields. Millions have benefitted from our service to get personalized advice for them and for their loved ones.

Best Regards,
Dr.Bharat Chawda.

[Freaker]

It is smooth and there is no pus.

I actually finally went and showed it to a dermatologist today and he said there was no way it was hpv. But he didnt say what it actually was. He just said it was a wart. He froze it off. He said that it couldnt be hpv because hpv warts are almost always on the shaft of the penis and after ten years there would be more than one. He also said that it didnt look like hpv.

But there was no pus and no punctum. So could he have been wrong and it really was an hpv wart?

[Bharat Chawda, MD]

Dear Freaker,

You have provided a good history, but it will be good if you answer few more question to guide you better.

1) How many such lesions do you have?

2) What is the texture of the lesion (smooth, rounded or rough & warty)?

3) Does it hurt when you squeeze it from the sides?

4) Do you see a punctum (a small hole) in the center of the lesion?

I would also like to see the lesion as this would help me suggest you better. So if it is possible for you to post a picture it would be good.

Based on your history, there seems to be two possibilities.

It could either be a wart (HPV), which actually looks like a warty rough growth and hurts on lateral pressure. Typically, there should be several of them as its been there since 10 years. If you have only one, then I would say that your immunity is pretty good because of which it has not spread to involve the whole of scrotum. The second possibility is of a sebaceous cyst, which looks like a small whitish round and smooth swelling & does not hurt on lateral pressure. It usually has a punctum in center and can ooze out whitish sebum when pressed. Both these conditions can be easily treated. But if you can reply me with the answers and the pictures, I would be able to suggest you better.

Hope that this information helps and hope that you will get better soon.

Thank you for using MedHelp's "Ask an Expert" Service, where we feature some of world's renowned medical experts in their fields. Millions have benefitted from our service to get personalized advice for them and for their loved ones.

Regards,
Dr.Bharat Chawda