Warts are one of the most common dermatological complaints affecting three out of four people at some point in their lives. Since warts are contagious, they pose the risk of multiplying and spreading causing embarrassment and discomfort.
In most cases, warts and verrucas are harmless and could even go away without any treatment. It could however take as long as up to two years for the virus and the wart or verruca to disappear.
Cryotherapy: Fast and effective wart and small skin tag removal
For the fast removal of common and seborrheic warts, verrucas, as well as small skin tags, The GP Surgery in Wimbledon and Fulham offers the minimally-invasive procedure of cryotherapy.
Cryotherapy, also known as cryoablation or cryotherapy, is a highly effective treatment for a wide variety of benign (non-cancerous) skin problems. This safe, low-cost procedure is performed in the privacy of a GP’s rooms; is usually quick; poses a minimal risk of scarring or infection and doesn’t require anaesthesia.
At The GP Surgery, a doctor applies liquid nitrogen with an open spray cryotherapy canister to the skin lesions. This method has been proven to be more effective than the cryoPen or Histofreezer and causes less scarring than laser therapy.
Large skin tags are however removed by a shave excision.
What is a wart or verruca?
Warts and verrucas are small growths with a rough texture caused by viruses in the human papillomavirus (HPV) family. They can look like a solid blister or a small cauliflower. A wart on the sole of your foot is called a verruca.
Warts spread through direct contact and while they may develop on any skin surface, they mostly appear on hands, fingers, feet or toes.
What are skin tags?
Skin tags, also known as acrochordons, are usually harmless (benign) skin-coloured or brown growths with a similar appearance to warts.
In most cases, these common skin growths are painless and do not grow or change. Anyone can get skin tags, particularly in areas where one’s skin rubs against other parts of your skin or clothing.
Skin tags usually appear:
- Around the neck;
- Armpits;
- Groin;
- Eyelids;
- and under the breasts.
Treatment for skin tags
Typically, they don’t cause any symptoms and do not need to be removed. They can however become irritated and bleed from catching on or rubbing against clothing.
Skin tags can be removed by:
- Cryotherapy (freezing them); or
- Shave excision (cutting them off with a surgical blade).
One cannot get a skin tag removed through the NHS as it is considered cosmetic surgery.
What happens during cryotherapy?
Cryotherapy is a medical procedure that uses extreme cold (liquid nitrogen) to destroy abnormal or diseased tissue.
The liquid nitrogen is applied to your wart or small skin tag for a few seconds to freeze the affected skin cells. The procedure leaves a sore blister which will scab over and eventually fall off in 7 to 10 days.
Most lesions only require a single treatment. Unfortunately, some warts are rather stubborn and will need follow-up treatment(s). Your GP will be able to tell you in advance how many treatments may be required to ensure its permanent removal.
PLEASE NOTE: We do NOT offer any complementary treatments and cannot perform cryotherapy near your eye area.
Small skin tag and wart removal costs
The price below includes a full consultation with your GP.
| Number of Lesions | Price / Duration |
| 1-3 lesions (Initial) | £115* (15 Minutes) |
| 4-10 lesions (Initial) | £140* (30 Minutes) |
| If follow-up needed: | |
| 1-3 lesions (Follow-up: After 1-4 weeks) | £83* (15 Minutes) |
| 4-10 lesions (Follow-up: After 1-4 weeks) | £108* (30 Minutes) |
* £15 Surcharge for weekend appointments.
Large skin tag removal with shave excision
A shave excision is performed with the aim of completely removing a skin tag. This is our recommended method for large skin tag removal.
The procedure involves injecting the area with local anaesthetic, shaving the skin tag off the skin, and cauterizing the base to stop any bleeding and prevent recurrence.
Costs of large skin tag removal by a GP
The price below includes a full consultation with your GP.
A £40 deposit is payable on booking to secure your excision date.
| Number of Lesions | Price / Duration |
| 1-2 lesions (Performed by GP with anaesthetic / surgical procedure) | £160* (30 Minutes) |
| Each additional lesion (More than 2 lesions) | +£60 (each) (+15 Minutes each) |
| + Sending specimen off for laboratory histology analysis (highly recommended) | +£200 (per specimen) |
| * £20 Surcharge for weekend appointments. | |
| If your GP spends up to 30 minutes with you discussing the procedure and you decide against it, there will be a charge of £69 (£79 on weekend). |
Our team of doctors
The GP Surgery team of doctors performing cryotherapy, include Amy Hermon-Taylor,
Wart and skin tag removal: How to make an appointment
- Wimbledon: Call/ E-mail us to make an appointment.
- Fulham: Book directly online
Frequently Asked Questions
CRYOTHERAPY
Liquid nitrogen is extremely cold. When sprayed on your skin, the top skin layer rapidly freezes.
When you leave The GP Surgery, the freezing site will probably be red and swollen, and it may sting and itch as it thaws.
Expect the site to look worse over the next few days before it gets better.
Swelling and/or blistering often develop within a couple of hours after treatment.
Two to three days after treatment, a scab will probably form which will then take seven to 10 days to fall off, leaving a pink smooth area.
The treatment site can get wet with normal bathing and showering.
If a blister or scab forms, do not remove it, but allow it to heal on its own.
If crusting develops, cleanse gently with soap and water and apply a thin layer of Vaseline twice daily.
You may experience pain while the liquid nitrogen is being applied and afterwards.
The treated skin may become red and swollen.
A blister (common), scar (rare) or an open sore could develop at the treatment area.
Cryotherapy may also cause your treated skin to lighten (or darken) as it can damage pigment cells.
Ask your doctor if you have any questions about your procedure.
There is some evidence that a low dose of zinc supplements can assist in the clearance and prevention of warts.
What is the shave excision procedure?
Shave excision involves a local anaesthetic being injected around the lesion to ensure its pain-free removal.
You may eat and drink normally for this form of anaesthetic.
The skin tag itself is then carefully shaved off the underlying normal skin.
This will leave a wound, similar to a graze, that will continue to heal with dressings alone and no need for stitches.
A light dressing is applied. This will either fall off naturally during the first week or will be removed at the wound check appointment around a week later.
At that point, the wound will have the appearance of a healing graze and may have a scab present.
It will continue to heal underneath and the scab will come off in time.
You can shower as normal after the surgery.
The scar after surgery is usually a subtle, light discoloration of the skin and will mostly be flat in appearance.
There are many different methods of skin tag removal available, such as cryotherapy, tying off and surgical excision.
Our plastic surgeon, Masha Singh, strongly believes the best results come from a shave excision. This because skin tags are pedunculated lesions, meaning that their base (closest to the skin) is narrower than their tip.
As such, you can often shave these off with smaller resulting scars than the size of the skin tag to begin with.
He also feels this is more accurate than cryotherapy with no damage to surrounding skin and less scarring than a full surgical excision.
Thank you to our patients for allowing us to display their Skin Tag Removal Photos.
Please feel free to get in touch with The GP Surgery if you have any additional questions.
All surgical bookings are made through Renata, who will liaise with you. Contact her directly via e-mail at [email protected].
Please note that all surgical bookings are provisional until confirmed with our surgeon. Renata may contact you for additional information and/or photographs to help with this process.