Patient ecstatic after suffering with “never going to go” condition for 70% of life
A PENSIONER who suffered a debilitating verruca for 56 YEARS has finally been cured – thanks to amazing microwave technology developed in the UK.
The 72-year-old retired teacher – identified only as Jane – is believed to be one of the longest-suffering verruca victims ever, with the massive and persistent lesion blighting her life since 1964.
When the Essex grandmother first developed the condition, The Beatles were taking the US by storm, Muhammad Ali defeated Sonny Liston to become heavyweight boxing champion of the world and Harold Wilson was prime minister after a general election victory over Alec Douglas-Home. The moon landing was still five years away.
Jane, who has been married for 52 years, had her verruca for longer than her marriage to her husband, and it was even older than the couple’s two sons, aged 44- and 46-years-old – it also saw in the birth of her five grandchildren.
However, after ten treatments with the Swift® microwave device from Scottish-based health-tech pioneers Emblation, Jane was finally given the all clear.
She said: “When I was informed that my verruca had completely disappeared and no further treatments were required, it felt like a miracle. I was overjoyed to say goodbye to the verruca that had been with me since 1964.”
The keen line dancer was often left in agony by the giant verruca, which proved completely resistant to multiple treatments and Jane added: “I had to fight through the pain.
“After trialling numerous unsuccessful treatments such as cryotherapy and acid, it was apparent that no treatment was working and would actually sometimes make it worse.
“It was a stubborn verruca that would routinely get thicker due to friction. I pretty much lost all hope when my previous podiatrist told that ‘it was never going to go’.”
However, Jane started being treated by Matthew Bland, co-owner in essexpodiatry.com, whose clinic was an early adopter of the Swift® technology, pioneered by Scottish firm Emblation and now being rolled out globally.
She added: “When my new podiatrist purchased the latest skin lesion treatment for his clinic – the Swift microwave device – and was experiencing great results with it, I felt like I had nothing to lose. I was absolutely delighted when I started to notice a visible difference.”
Matthew was equally delighted with the results, after several years of fighting a losing battle against Jane’s treatment-resistant verruca.
He added: “I had never seen anything like this in my 24 years of podiatry. It is not uncommon for a patient to have had a verruca for 10 or even 15 years, but over 50 years is unheard of.”
Matthew described how Jane’s foot was “smothered” by the giant plantar wart and added: “It covered most of the ball of her foot and toes, the patches were huge. A verruca, especially one of this size, can cause all sorts of immobility issues, which can then have a severe effect on a person’s circulation.
“Having trialled every treatment under the sun and with no effective cure, all I could do was remove the painful corns the verruca had grown at each appointment to stop it from increasing in size, but it wouldn’t reduce the pain.
“Jane was constantly aware of the pain. She felt it all the time, especially when walking and partaking in any activities. Her love for line dancing meant she battled through, but it must have been challenging.”
After buying a swift device for his clinic, Matthew immediately started to see superb results when treating lesser verrucae for other patients – and quickly realised the device could be the answer to Jane’s prayers.
While most patients require an average of three treatments, each a month apart, Jane embarked on a two-year treatment programme. After the 10 th session she was finally give the all-clear.
Matthew added: “The results were miraculous. The skin tone around Jane’s verruca had changed – that’s when you know that something is happening. Slowly, it started to fade before disappearing in
its entirety.
“It is hard to describe someone looking as happy as Jane, at the time. It is a great buzz for a clinician it felt like I was ticking the box of a huge achievement.
“We have now treated over 330 people with Swift and have seen incredible results. It is such a rewarding experience as a podiatrist to see this highly common but thus far, untreatable, condition that cripples so many of my patients, completely cured.”
Emblation was founded by Gary Beale and Eamon McErlean, who met during post-graduate studies at University in Edinburgh. The pair went on to launch Swift in 2016, as a radical new treatment in the podiatry sector.
In May 2021 the firm secured an eight-figure cash injection from specialist healthcare investors, Apposite Capital. That war chest is funding expansion across Europe and the firm is expected to double staff numbers in the next 18 months.
To find out more about Emblation, call 01259 236132 or visit https://emblation.com/
To find out more about Essex Podiatry, visit https://www.essexpodiatry.com/
