Thanks for this resource. I have a question about HPV disclosure. I had an oral squamous papilloma removed from my throat (around the tonsils) by an ENT about 18 months ago. I was informed that these lesions are often caused by HPV, but I don't believe there was any specific testing done on the biopsy, other than confirming that it was non-malignant. I've had no recurrence since then. My care providers at the time didn't really mention anything about sexual transmission, other than the fact that it might be caused by HPV. I've recently reentered the dating pool, and wondering if there's a medical reason to disclose this, especially this long after it was removed. It seems like there's ambiguity around (1) whether the lesion was caused by HPV in the first place, and (2) whether there's an ethical obligation to disclose this long after removal. I'm not really sure how to approach this, so I thought I would seek outside advice. 

Thanks! 

I received the Gardasil vaccine as an adolescent. 

In addition to sexual partners, should I disclose this before kissing?

As a rule, we do not encourage clients to disclose their HPV infections to sexual partners when they know that they are infected and when they are not sure that they have HPV we certainly advise against disclosure that you MIGHT have HPV.  As you know not all oral papillomas are due to HPV and in your case, this is less likely, on average, that yours was HPV related because you have had the HPV vaccine.  Further, you underwent removal of the papilloma which may well have been a curative procedure.  

Please remember that, like you, if future partners have received the HPV vaccine, it is unlikely that they have a vaccine-related strain of HPV and if they are not vaccinated, they likely have already been infected.  Remember as well that most HPV infections are self-limited process which resolve on their own even if untreated.

There is just too much misunderstanding about HPV to encourage routine disclosure, particularly in your situation when you do not even know that you had HPV.  If the topic comes up as you enter into new relationships, disclosure that you had a papilloma removed and whether or not it was HPV-related is unknown is reasonable but I would not lead with disclosure about something that you had which is no longer present and MAY have been HPV related.

I certainly would not feel the need to disclose related to kissing

I hope this perspective is helpful. EWH