How I Killed a Mosaic Plantar Wart That Would Not Go Away

This page summarizes a full photographic case history of a stubborn plantar wart that evolved into a mosaic wart and survived multiple treatments before clearing. The photographic evidence is in the Timeline.

What is a mosaic plantar wart?

A mosaic plantar wart is a cluster of multiple wart colonies growing under a shared callus roof. This structure can make treatment response appear inconsistent because partial destruction may leave surviving “islands” beneath thick keratin.

Why plantar warts can look “better” when they are not improving

Dry keratin contracts and can hide wart architecture, making the lesion look smaller or smoother. In contrast, soaking and debridement can reveal the true footprint and internal structure. This is one reason that photos taken under different conditions can look contradictory.

Why cryotherapy and salicylic acid can fail as monotherapy

Cryotherapy can injure the wart’s surface and blood supply without penetrating deeply enough through a thick plantar callus roof. Salicylic acid can be effective, but in some difficult lesions thick keratin and pressure-hardened skin reduce penetration and make progress slow or inconsistent.

How cryotherapy plus 40% salicylic acid pads led to resolution in this case

In this case, repeated cryotherapy appeared to flatten and weaken the structure, but the wart persisted under a thick keratin barrier. The turning point was aggressive keratin dissolution using 40% salicylic acid pads, which allowed the remaining wart architecture to collapse and the area to transition into normal wound healing and remodeling.

Why the foot looked worse during healing (and why that did not mean recurrence)

After clearance, the sole of the foot remodels slowly. “Ghost architecture” can persist as pits, rings, and dark specks from old capillaries being expelled. Reactive hyperkeratosis and post-treatment texture changes can mimic recurrence to the untrained eye. The Timeline commentary was written specifically to help readers distinguish active wart structure from post-treatment remodeling.

Complete photo timeline of plantar wart destruction and healing

The Timeline contains dated, labeled photographs showing the lesion’s appearance when soaked, dried, debrided, treated, and during remodeling. It is the primary content of this site.