Surgical treatment is required when the medical options fail to recover pigment in vitiligo patients. Surgery is done in patients with stable vitiligo where the white patches have not increased or decreased in last 6- 12 months with or without medical therapy.
SURGICAL TECHNIQUES FOR VITILIGO:
Skin grafting
- The normal skin from the person is taken and is surgically transplanted on areas of vitiligo. The new skin grafts then start producing pigment and give colour to the white patches.
- The procedure is suitable for patients with limited areas of vitiligo.
Suction blister grafting
- In suction blister grafting, negative pressure is applied to the normally pigmented skin of the person to promote the formation of multiple blisters (fluid-filled cavities).
- It usually takes 2-2.5 hours for the development of blisters. The roofs of the blisters are surgically removed and are cut to the appropriate size and shape according to the recipient area. These are then transplanted onto the prepared recipient site which has vitiligo patches.
- This procedure can be done for small areas of vitiligo.