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Cartridge guard-1 blade as a safe viral wart peeler
*Corresponding author: Muhammed Mukhtar, Department of Dermatology, Mukhtar Skin Centre, Katihar, Bihar, India. drmmukhtar20@gmail.com
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Received: ,
Accepted: ,
How to cite this article: Mukhtar M. Cartridge guard-1 blade as a safe viral wart peeler. CosmoDerma. 2026;6:22. doi: 10.25259/CSDM_5_2026
PROBLEM
Most viral warts, particularly those on the palmoplantar surface, are hyperkeratotic. As a result, topical therapies such as salicylic acid, cryotherapy, cantharidin, imiquimod, and 5-FU are often ineffective.[1,2] Furthermore, long-term topical therapy for warts is essential. To augment the topical therapy, wart peelers such as pumice stones, surgical or shaving blades, and curettes are needed. We employed a new device to peel the wart.
SOLUTION
We used a Cartridge Guard -1 blade for a razor to peel warts [Figure 1a]. The sharp blade and protection make it simple to peel or pare the wart even without topical anesthetic drugs. The wart is peeled under aseptic conditions until pinpoints of bleeding appear to coagulate the warts’ feeding capillaries [Video 1]. Following that, topical chemical cautery with trichloroacetic acid is performed until the lesion is frosting [Figure 1b]. Thus, the Cartridge Guard -1 blade can be safely used to peel or pare hyperkeratotic warts before topical therapy.
- (a) Periungual wart is peeled with Cartridge Guard-1 blade till pinpoint bleeding, and (b) the peeled wart is cauterized with trichloroacetic acid.
Video 1:
Video 1:The wart is being peeled with the cartridge blade. Video available on: https://doi.org/10.25259/CSDM_5_2026Ethical approval:
Institutional review board approval is not required.
Declaration of patient consent:
The authors certify that they have obtained all appropriate patient consent forms. In the form, the patients have given their consent for their images and other clinical information to be reported in the journal. The patients understand that their names and initials will not be published and due efforts will be made to conceal their identity, but anonymity cannot be guaranteed.
Conflicts of interest:
There are no conflicts of interest.
Use of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technology for manuscript preparation:
The author confirms that there was no use of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technology for assisting in the writing or editing of the manuscript and no images were manipulated using AI.
Financial support and sponsorship: Nil.
References
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