Dean Cronkwright (aka “Dr. Wart”) recently joined a UK-based webinar as a panellist alongside Dr. Ivan Bristow (https://www.foot.expert/) and Marion Yau (https://www.footcliniclondon.co.uk/). This engaging session attracted nearly 200 podiatrists and skin professionals from across the UK and Europe, focusing on an intriguing topic: Intractable Plantar Keratoderma (IPK), or as we often call it in Australia, “Smokers’ Corns.”
Wait, why would a wart specialist talk about corns?
Great question! Let’s first understand what IPK, or smokers’ corns, really are.
Smokers’ corns are a particularly painful type of corn, usually found on the soles of the feet or the tips of the toes. These corns are often seen in people who smoke, and the pain is linked to the high number of nerve endings and blood vessels around the area. While they might look similar to regular corns, smokers’ corns usually have a distinct white, scar-like tissue at their centre.
Corns and calluses, in general, form as the skin’s natural defence against excessive pressure and friction. When your skin feels under attack, it thickens up—that’s the body doing its job! Problems arise, however, when this thickened skin grows too much. In these cases, podiatrists remove the excess tissue and use techniques like orthotics or padding to redirect pressure away from sensitive spots.
That still doesn’t answer the question of why Dr. Wart would be talking about corns!
But here’s where it gets fascinating: recent research (https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.29431) suggests that the white scar-like tissue found in smokers corns is actually wart tissue in more than 80% of cases!
So, which came first – the wart or the corn?
The short answer: we don’t know! But here’s what we do know….
Swift microwave treatment of warts has >80% resolution rate without damaging any skin. So Ivan Bristow and his colleagues decided to start treating IPK using Swift with amazing reductions in pain. Prior to treatment pain scores on a scale of 1-10 were reported at 8-10. After each treatment, the reported pain levels significantly reduced and after 4 treatments the reported pain levels were reported to be zero in >70% of the clients.
Not only is Swift microwave therapy effective at resolving warts (>83%) it is also effective (>70%) at reducing the pain associated with smokers’ corns.
So, while Dr. Wart might not typically focus on corns, it’s clear why this crossover into wart territory is so exciting for both clients and clinicians.
