Integumentary Body

The integumentary system serves as protection for the body. While its goal is to avoid damage, diseases of the skin do occur. Diseases of the integumentary system vary from skin cancer to acne to warts. Warts, however, are small tumors that are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). The type of wart depends on the type of HPV. Overproduction of the keratin protein leads to verruca plantaris, better known as plantar warts. They are rough, hard growths that appear on the sole of the foot. Typically, plantar warts go away on their own with time, though that is not always the case. Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK, received a case of plantar warts that did not appear to be treatable with home remedies. After two years of being told the same thing, that it would heal up, a nine-year-old little girl’s mother became desperate. She agreed to be filmed for the show “embarrassing bodies” in hopes of receiving
These pictures were used to serve as a teaching tool for future dermatologists and also to document this patient’s case. The patient’s body did not reject the bone marrow, but it also did not respond the way that GOSH (and the patient) were hoping for. She now has to self-inject with antibodies and attend regular checkups. After years of plantar warts, the young girl can now live a “normal” life. She can enjoy being active again without the pain. After reading this case study, I have inferred that it may take multiple attempts and several doctors to get the correct treatment. Rare cases like this are great to look back on so future cases can be handled differently and more effectively. Furthermore, I believe that once the patient was referred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital and eventually to GOSH, the case was handled well and treated properly. This study describes one of the ways that plantar warts may be treated after multiple attempts have