Are plantar warts caused by a special kind of virus? Are they more difficult to treat?

The term plantar wart refers to a location rather than to a pattern of behavior. Plantar warts are simply warts on the plantar aspect (sole) of the foot. Warts in this location have a unique appearance from being compressed by the pressure of walking.

For reasons that are not entirely clear, plantar warts are more difficult to eradicate. Excision by scalpel or carbon dioxide laser often results in scarring, and recurrence is common. Repeated liquid nitrogen treatment may be painful, inconvenient, and costly. Vascular pulsed dye laser is effective and not as painful or debilitating as liquid nitrogen treatment. Home treatments with salicylic acid pads, along with judicious trimming to maintain comfort, seem to be most helpful. Glutaraldehyde, which produces a brown discoloration of treated surfaces, has also been used successfully.