hpv ghost!?

[isliferuined]

about 3 months ago I got five genital warts treated with a co2 laser. I went in to the dermatologist to get moles looked at and remembered I had a tiny spot by the tip of my penis she looked at it and said that is a genital wart ghost and she also called it a non active volcano and she said we can remove that do you want to I said absolutely so the day of the surgery they ended up finding for more very small ones mostly in the pubic region. So fast forward to 3 months later 4 out of the 5 have really showed no signs of coming back just scar tissue which obviously after getting burnt you're going to have some but the one on the tip started to slowly raise up from the center of the scar. Except this time when it came back it looked like a scar itself it was very white in color and not oval and not grounded almost in of squarish shape very white and rough to the touch I went back to get another mole removed and showed her and she said that is genital wart ghost again and she said I'll give you cream this time. I don't know if you have ever heard of this before or what does doctors actually very well known and has a great practice in the area I live I am frustrated that it looks like it came back I'm thinking back I had a spot there years ago I don't remember what I did but I could have picked it off or whatever and I remember everyone away for a long time and then came back. Just wondering what your opinion is on further treatment and what the heck you think it is if its the work coming back I appreciate your time I don't want to spread this to anyone so I have been abstaining from sex at all let me know what you think and if cream would work this time I'm tired of it it seems to come back like this every time again thanks

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Glad I could help. Take care. EWH

[isliferuined]

yeah they definitely were helpful thank you I go back to get stitches out next week I will talk a little more in depth about this ghost non active volcanoas she describes it. My ex girlfriend dead end up with high risk HPV and had a leap done that was about 6 months into our 8 month relationship no problems since then I know I'll never know if I have high risk hopefully by now that would be gone anyway thanks again for your answer you're right my name on here is a little dramatic but it just ***** to have to deal with this hopefully I'm on the downhill thanks again doc

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to the Forum.  I'll try to help but most of my comments relate to efforts to interpret what your dermatologist has already said and, as a result, my major suggestion is, ultimately that you should talk with her about these issues.  It sounds to me as though she (and I think, you) feel that what you are seeing on the tip of your penis is not a wart but a scar resulting from the treatment of an earlier wart.  That would not be surprising.  All wart treatment is, in one way or another, designed to destroy the infected tissue so that normal, uninfected tissue can grow back in its place.  Unfortunately, and there is great person-to-person variation in this, different people have different tendencies to scar and scars take different shapes and forms.  It sounds as though what you have noted is a scar resulting from earlier treatment.  The cream she has prescribed may be designed to try to improve the scarring.  As I said however, I think you should seek clarification on this. Sometimes physicians will use terms like "ghost" for scarring to try to help patients not over-react.  

Speaking of over-reacting, I note that your MedHelp pseudonym is "isliferuined".  I hope this does not reflect your feelings about having a genital wart.  HPV and genital warts are, for the most part, innocuous, common dermatologic problems that should not impact a person going forward.  As I said to a previous client "For better or worse, at present HPV is a "fact of life" and most people have it or will have it at some point in the future.  Despite this fact, only a tiny minority of persons with HPV get the consequences of infection (primarily women and primarily cancer and pre-cancerous lesions).  HPV is the most commonly acquired STD.  Over 85% of sexually active women will have HPV infection at some time in their lives.  The figure for men is less well studied but similar.   In some HPV will cause genital warts, in others it will not cause warts but may lead to changes in PAP smears.  In nearly everyone who gets HPV, warts or otherwise, the infections will resolve by themselves without therapy in 8-24 months.  In a very small minority of women, HPV infection can persist and lead to the pre-cancerous lesions that PAP smears detect and which can then be treated.  For men there is far less risk of any sort."  HPV is simply not something to over react to.

I hope my comments are helpful.  EWH