SWIFT Microwave Immunotherapy for Warts

Frequently Asked Questions

• What are plantar warts?
  1. Plantar warts, also known as plantar verruca, are an infection of the skin with a virus which leads to replication of the virus in the most superficial layers of the skin on the bottom of the foot. This continued replication leads to the formation of the wart.
• What virus causes plantar warts?
  1. Human papilloma virus or HPV is the virus that causes plantar warts.
  2. The virus typically enters the skin through a micro-abrasion (cut) in the skin and infection spreads. The infected tissues then results in a visible wart.
• What are the treatment options for warts?
  1. Warts are generally difficult to treat, especially with traditional treatments. Traditional treatment can lead to untreated tissue as well as damage of healthy tissue to the surrounding area. This leads to frustration not only for the patient, but also for your foot and ankle physician.
  2. This has led your foot and ankle physicians to seek out the best treatment for warts, which is SWIFT. Swift has an 85%+ effective rate of curing plantar warts with less than 1% recurrence rate.
• What is SWIFT?
  1. Swift is a system that utilizes precise, highly controlled electromagnetic waves as a form of immunotherapy (inducing and enhancing an immune response). The microwaves travel into the tissue and create localized heating and acceleration in chemical/cellular reactions alerting your body to the HPV virus and beginning the immune response.
• Who is a candidate for SWIFT?
  1. Anyone who has plantar warts.
• What should I expect with SWIFT treatment?
  1. The doctor will use a pen type device with an individualized, sterile tip to deliver multiple applications of electromagnetic waves directly to the wart.
  2. The treatment session is quick, with most patients experiencing only minimal discomfort, and allows patients to easily continue their day afterward.
• Will I need to do any home care for the wart?
  1. There is no at home wound dressing or care.
• I have more than one wart, will you need to treat each wart?
  1. In many cases, other satellite warts require no treatment, but can be eradicated via the immune response.
• How often will I need treatment with SWIFT?
  1. Treatments are performed every 4 weeks.
  2. Following the last treatment, there will be a final follow-up at 12 weeks.
• How many treatments will it take with SWIFT?
  1. On average, patients require 2-3 treatments.
  2. Long-standing lesions will typically require additional treatments.
  3. However, there is no guarantee for the success of the treatment.
• Does my insurance cover SWIFT?
  1. No, insurance does not cover SWIFT. This will be a cash payment only option.
  2. Your initial consultation and your final check are office visits that will be submitted to insurance and payment made based on your plan (i.e., copay, deductible, etc.) The consult and the follow up are not a part of the actual treatment costs.
• How much does SWIFT cost?
  1. SWIFT can be purchased per single treatment or as a bundle.
  2. Single treatment cost is $250. If an additional probe tip is required during the session, it will be an additional $125. (This will be discussed with you prior to treatment as to the likelihood of the need to utilize as second tip, and this is uncommon to need.)
  3. Bundle cost is $650 for up to 3 treatments.
• How many treatments are included in the bundle?
  1. The bundle includes up to 3 treatments for the same lesion.
• If I get the bundle and do not need all 3 treatments, will there be a refund?
  1. If the bundle is bought and all 3 treatments are not need, there will be no refund issued.