New techniques bring hope for vitiligo treatment

A US dermatologist has released a fresh insight into the various surgical methods that could lead to more effective treatment of vitiligo*. The new information brings new hope to sufferers and was presented at American Academy of Dermatology’s 70th Annual meeting.

New surgical techniques include skin grafting – where normal skin is used as donor tissue and then surgically transplanted on areas of vitiligo (the new skin grafts start producing pigment).  The procedure can be used for patients with limited or extensive areas of vitiligo, although it can only be carried out on patients with stable vitiligo (or vitiligo that has not changed for at least six months).

“The newest surgical grafting techniques and transplant procedures hold a lot of promise for successfully treating vitiligo, and I think we’ll see more dermatologists offering these cutting-edge procedures in this country in the future,” Dr. Halder explained.

The procedure is said to have a high success rate of 80 – 90 percent in most patients.

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*vitiligo is a chronic skin disorder that affects areas of the skin to become depigmented.