Dr Katie Maver
We are delighted to welcome Katie who joined the Kiwiskin Team in early September.
Originally from Tasmania, Dr Katie Maver graduated with honours from the University of Tasmania School of Medicine in 2007. After working in hospitals in Australia and New Zealand she settled in beautiful Nelson in 2011.
Katie started GP training in 2012 and started to develop her interest in skin cancer detection and treatment shortly after. Katie attained Fellowship of the Royal New Zealand college of GPs in 2015, and has been awarded Advanced Clinical Certificates in Dermoscopy, Skin Cancer Medicine and Surgery from the Skin Cancer College of Australasia and became an Accredited Skin Cancer Doctor with the SCCA in 2019.
Her passion for early skin cancer detection and minor surgery stems from both early years spent at the beach, a decade as a surf lifesaver in 'Tassie' and seeing first hand the damage caused by the sun and is combined with a love of sewing instilled by her mother :)
Warts
Warts are growths caused by a virus called Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Virus shenanigans are all over the show. The wart virus's 3rd cousin, Covid virus, for example, causes arguments.
Verruca are warts under pressure
Warts normally grow outwards making external bumps. On the soles of the feet the pressure of walking means they grow inwards. An inward growing wart is called a Verruca, or a 'plantar wart'.
Why is it that verruca are some of the hardest warts to get rid of?
The skin on Kiwi feet is thick and a verruca is a little bit like an iceberg'; the bulk of an iceberg is underwater and, likewise, most of the verruca floats deep in the skin. Often, the little bit you can see to treat is literally the tip of the iceberg. It’s also worthwhile treating the tip because otherwise it feels like a pebble in the shoe and becomes tender when walking. Treading on a lump in your skin is annoying, a bit like the princess and the pea. Sometimes verruca become uncomfortable particularly when we wear shoes.
What makes the black spots in warts?
For many Kiwis our first encounter with little black dots is when we get our first White Bait Pattie. I remember being little and mum made my first ever whitebait pattie. It smelt great; it was my graduation from fish fingers . . . the tricky thing was that it was like all the whitebait were all staring at me, and it felt awkward, seeing as I was eating them, so I tried picking off the spots, like a wee eye specialist, and they were jolly well stuck on and there were also tons of them, which was overwhelming (the same feeling as emails on a Monday morning) . . . that was when I realised there was a better way . . . eating whitebait with my eyes closed (this strategy also makes emails disappear).
Anyhow, the upshot is that those little black dots on warts had nothing to do with whitebait stares. That was digression. They do however, help doctors to make the diagnosis of a wart. The reason they are there is because wart tissue flakes, crumbles and bleeds and the small black dots it leaves behind are tiny blood clots. . . . thank goodness it's not that the warts are watching.
Are warts infectious?
Yes, especially if they are injured. Fortunately, we have great immune systems and often we don't catch them.
How do you tell the difference between a wart and a skin cancer?
Skin cancers are craggy and look 'wrong'. Warts tend to be bland and symmetrical and they also have a repetitive microscopic structure that's easy to pick up with a dermatotoscope.
Warts often stop growing when they get to a certain size. Cancers don't - they keep growing. Sometimes warts have little 'fingers' projecting off the surface, like an anemone. Amazing warts.
Is a skin tag a wart?
No.
Skin tags are smooth, while warts are rough with an irregular surface.
Skin tags tend to be more raised from the skin by a thin stalk, whilst warts are only slightly raised or entirely flat.
Warts are caused by a virus while skin tags have a variety of causes, including ageing, weight, hormones and friction.
Most warts are contagious but skin tags are not.
However, the HPV (wart) virus is found in 50% of skin tags and it's possible that, in some cases, the wart virus might affect the growth of some skin tags
Warts virus can cause cancer!!
Cervical cancer and some cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, mouth throat and oropharynx (back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils) are also caused by the wart virus
We can protect our children from these cancers by arranging HPV VACCINE when they are 11-12 yrs of age
Next Month’s newsletter
How to treat warts
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