Brief overview
- Treatment: Surgical removal by laser, electric snare or with surgical scissors; no treatment with acids or icing possible; treatment only for cosmetic reasons
- Causes and risk factors: Cause still unknown; overweight and predisposition favor occurrence
- Symptoms: Small skin-colored, soft skin appendages in the armpits, on the neck or in the groin area; harmless and without further symptoms
- Prognosis: Usually harmless and easy to remove
What are pedunculated warts?
Pedunculated, small warts on the neck, armpits or other parts of the body are often pedunculated warts (soft fibromas). They are wart-like, soft skin appendages. They are stalked, skin-colored and usually only a few millimeters in size.
The skin tags appear in some cases as early as puberty, but mostly after the age of 30. The cause is still unknown, but they are not contagious.
Although stalk warts are harmless in themselves, it is important to have them clarified by a doctor, especially in the intimate area, as they may also be contagious genital warts or signs of a sexually transmitted disease.
How can fibroids be removed?
In such cases, it is possible to have the pedunculated nipples removed: The dermatologist has a choice of different procedures for this purpose. He either removes the skin appendages with a laser, “burns” them with electric current (electrocoagulation) or cuts them off with surgical scissors (possibly under local anesthesia).
What to do about fibroids in the intimate area?
Pedunculated warts in the intimate area are also harmless in themselves. However, it is possible that stalk-shaped warts in the area are contagious genital warts or signs of another sexually transmitted disease. Therefore, it is recommended to show warts in the intimate area to a doctor or dermatologist (skin doctor) to have them clarified.
Remove stalk warts yourself?
In the meantime, commercially available wart removers are on the market, with which stalk warts should be able to be removed. However, it is important to work cleanly and sterilely.
The safest option is to have a doctor remove plantar warts – however, surgery for cosmetic reasons is only reimbursed by health insurance companies in exceptional cases. You should therefore consult your health insurance company in advance.
Causes and risk factors
Despite the name, pedunculated warts are not true warts. This is because they are caused by human papilloma viruses (HPV). Stalk warts, on the other hand, are so-called soft fibromas. These are benign growths of certain skin cells (fibrocytes).
For more on human papilloma viruses, see the article HPV.
Other fibromas
Pedunculated warts are soft fibromas (fibroma molle). However, there are other types of fibromas that have nothing to do with style warts, but are more often encountered under the term fibroma.
Fibromas in the mouth, on the gums or on the tongue, for example, are so-called irritant fibromas (epulis), which indicate chronic inflammation or chronic mechanical irritation.
Ossifying and non-ossifying fibromas are found as rare benign connective tissue growths in the area of bones – especially in the area of the jaw.
Fibroma generally describes a benign growth of fibrocytes, a type of cell in connective tissue. As a rule, however, only the form of soft fibromas is referred to as pedunculated warts.
Symptoms
Pedunculated nipples usually do not show any symptoms other than their cosmetically disturbing appearance.
In case of changing color or rapid growth, it is advisable to consult a doctor to rule out the possibility of another disease such as a malignant tumor of the sarcoma type.
Diagnosis
This allows other diseases to be ruled out, such as a malignant tumor of the sarcoma type.
Prognosis and course of the disease
Pedunculated warts are harmless, the skin appendages stop growing at a certain point, but do not regress on their own.
Sometimes they form in clusters in one place. They can usually be easily removed by a doctor, but caution is advised when treating them yourself to avoid inflammation.
Since the cause is as yet unknown, no prevention is possible.
