Anal warts

I’ve been lurking out here for sometime now and thought I’d respond to this question as a gay man who has been treated for anal warts. I am fortunate that I live in the San Francisco Bay area and that my primary physician is also a gay man who stays very current on the latest information pertaining to HIV (his primary practice) and other conditions affected by compromised immune systems, one of them being HPV. The most important thing that I’ve learned is that men who bottom should have an annual PAP smear. If your doc in not willing or thinks it is unnecessary it is time to find a different doc. Something else that I’ve learned is that homophobia plays a big part in doctors’ reluctance to learn or care about people like me.

That being said, my primary doc referred me to Dr. Mark L. Welton one of two doctors who pioneered the treatment of anal warts. He practices at Stanford and U.C.S.F. Until they began treating anal warts the practice was to wait until they became cancerous and then treat the cancer.

My limited understanding of HPV is that it stays local to the area that was exposed. If you do a search on “Mark L. Welton anal warts” in GOOGLE or Ask Jeeves (this seemed to return more hits) you will find links to articles about him and HPV and papers that he has written.

Dav