Updates in Surgical Treatment of Vitiligo

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Vitiligo is a common cutaneous disorder of depigmentation. Surgical treatment of vitiligo is considered the final resort of repigmentation in lesions failing to respond for various medical and light therapies. The tissue and cellular graft techniques are used for the successful introduction of melanocytes into the vitiligo lesions. Stability of vitiligo is the cornerstone of evaluation before surgery.  Tissue graft includes various techniques of transferring the healthy pigmented skin as a whole without processing to the vitiliginous skin, while the cellular graft involves further processing of these grafts into cellular components which are then applied on the recipient site after dermabrasion either as such or after multiplication in culture media. Aim: To outline current modalities for surgical treatment of vitiligo. Conclusion: Preparation of recipient-site is considered a crucial step for achieving a successful repigmentation. Multiple promising surgical modalities for vitiligo are continuous in the ongoing research and clinical trials to improve the repigmentation outcomes cosmetically with decreasing the time and the cost.