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Plantar warts are common viral infection that are usually challenging in treatment. Conventional treatment methods are usually invasive, have low efficacy, and need long recovery periods. In this study, we compared pulsed dye laser (PDL) and neodymium yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) lasers in the treatment of recalcitrant plantar warts. The study included 46 patients with multiple plantar warts. In each patient, lesions were divided into two groups: one treated with Nd:YAG (spot size, 7 mm; energy, 100 J/cm(2); and pulse duration, 20 ms) and the other with PDL (spot size, 7 mm; energy, 8 J/cm(2); and pulse duration, 0.5 ms). Laser sessions were applied every 2 weeks with maximum of six sessions. The study included 63% males and 37% females with a mean age of 29.6 ± 7.34 years. The cure rate was 73.9% with PDL with no significant difference (p = 0.87) from Nd:YAG (78.3%). The number of sessions required was more in PDL (mean, 5.05 ± 0.2) compared with Nd:YAG (mean, 4.65 ± 0.5) but without significant difference. Complications were significantly higher with Nd:YAG (43.5%) compared with PDL (8.7%). Hematoma was the most common complication recorded by Nd:YAG (28.3 %), and it was significantly higher (p = 0.002) than PDL (2.2%). Relapse was recorded in 8.7% with Nd:YAG compared with 13% in PDL with no significant difference (p = 0.74). Our results suggested that PDL and Nd:YAG lasers are effective in the treatment of resistant plantar warts. PDL is safer and less painful but needs more sessions, while Nd:YAG is more painful and shows more complications.

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I would like to thank my co-authors, Nishant Jha, Grant Williams, Jazmine Staten, and Miles Vesper for their assistance and contributions on this work. I also would like to acknowledge my study participants for their time. This accomplishment would have not been possible without my family and friends. I thank my family for their love and support and for being an example of hard work, inspiration, and dedication. I thank my parents Hollis and Lillian Poché for their encouragement and guidance. Words cannot describe the significance of their love. I thank my sister Caroline Schneider and her husband Chris Schneider for their help and support during my studies. I thank my sister Annie Suarez, her husband Joshua Suarez, and niece Olivia Suarez for keeping me uplifted. I thank Mike and Carol Schneider for their hospitality. Last but not least, I would like to thank my friends across the United States for helping me through the hard times and demonstrating true friendship. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS

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