I was recently diagnosed with anal warts. I was having some digestive problems such as blood and mucus in the stool as well as frequent stomach aches and bowel movements. Firstly, can all these things be attributed to warts? The warts near my rectum were removed, as well as some internal ones within the first couple inches of my colon. the surgeon proceeded to do a complete colonoscopy and found "extensive warts in the vicinity of 7-8 inches up." He would not remove them because he was worried about puncturing my colon. How rare are warts in this area? I'm going to see a colo-rectal surgeon, but i'm still worried about the possiblility they may spread upwards instead of downwards. I have stopped having anal receptive sex, and after this experience may never again. FYI, i am HIV- thankfully. I guess i'm just looking for some comfort that other cases like this have been seen and treated with success. Thank you.

Your case of warts is indeed not all that unusual. Warts are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV, also known as the wart virus). It is possible to get from an HPV infection, just internal warts, just external warts, or both. It is also possible to harbor and transmit the infection even in the absence of all warts. I would indeed recommend that you have all your warts removed as much as possible. If they can not be cut out, then they may be suitable for laser treatment. It may pay to find out if there's a surgeon or other provider that has expertise in warts. Often such experts are located in large academic centers. And yes, warts occur both in HIV+ and HIV- folks. Companies are working very hard to find a vaccine to HPV. Several are in clinical trials, but none is readily available.