Woman left with deformed foot after decade-long plight with ‘cauliflower’ warts

A woman was left with a deformed foot after a decade-long battle with verrucas.

The 54-year-old had been battling an autoimmune disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) for 20 years, which has resulted in painful warts across her hands and feet.

Her left foot in particular was affected, with the verrucas dating back more than 10 years.

While the unnamed patient had tried various treatments – including salicylic acid, cryotherapy, laser ablation and traditional Chinese remedies – nothing tackled the verrucas.

Shocking pictures show the extreme spread of thick warts across her feet, with areas yellow, black and white in colour.

Doctors described them as “cauliflower-like” clusters, which affected the woman’s gait and caused “marked psychological distress” – with the main issue on her left foot.

A woman’s decade long battle with severe verrucas caused by lupus left her foot deformed until surgeons removed the clustered warts and performed a skin graft restoring her mobility and quality of life. — WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT
Extensive verrucae vulgares on the plantar and dorsal aspects of the left foot in a 54-year-old immunocompromised woman. (Picture: Jam Press)

A team of medics worked to remove the plantar warts and ulcers – starting with shaving them at the base, and removing necrotic tissue until the soft, healthy tissue could be found underneath.

Then, a split-thickness skin graft was performed until general anaesthesia, using skin taken from her thigh, to cover the wound, as reported by Need To Know.

Three weeks post-op, the grafts had healed, and the patient was advised to regularly soak her foot in 44°C water.

At a six-month check-up, the woman reported normal mobility and a “clear improvement” in her quality of life.

Doctors have noted a “sustained remission” as a result of the surgery, which took place in Chengdu, China, as was documented in a recently-published medical journal.