Management of Vitiligo Patients With Surgical Interventions

Cultured melanocyte transplantation, or a noncultured epidermal suspension, was first initiated in 1992.¹³ Silpa-Archa et al¹⁴ conducted an open, split-comparison study of 6 vitiligo patients (5 women, 1 man; age range, 20–65 years) with stable lesions. Fifty percent of patients received autologous pigmented skin cellular suspension, which was applied to vitiligo-affected skin that was treated with a fractionated CO₂ laser, and 50% received dermabrasion. Composite dressing was placed overlying the site with dressing removal in 1 week. The degree of repigmentation was based on a modified vitiligo area scoring index scale of poor (0%–25%), fair (26%–50%), good (51%–75%), very good (76%–90%), or excellent (91%–100%). Overall repigmentation was very good to excellent in all 6 patients.¹⁴ Potentially, this method can far improve the surgical treatment options for future vitiligo patients.

Final Thoughts

Overall, when evaluating surgical interventions for the treatment of vitiligo, careful consideration of the patient’s disease progression, failed therapies, outcome expectations, and repigmentation is warranted prior to initiating any procedure. For appropriate candidates, a range of surgical methodologies has proven to be effective in treatment of stable vitiligo patients.