Clinical Dermatology
Melanocyte transfer surgery for stable vitiligo. Surgical repigmentation for patches resistant to medical treatment.
Vitiligo surgery is indicated for patients with stable vitiligo (no new patches or expansion for at least 12 months) who have not responded adequately to medical treatment (topical steroids, calcineurin inhibitors, phototherapy).
The procedure involves harvesting melanocytes (pigment-producing cells) from a normally pigmented donor site and transplanting them to the depigmented patches. Our doctors perform non-cultured epidermal cell suspension (NCES) technique, which allows treatment of larger areas from a relatively small donor site.
The procedure: A thin split-thickness skin graft is harvested from a hidden donor area (typically the thigh). This tissue is processed in an enzymatic solution (trypsin) to separate individual melanocytes and keratinocytes into a cell suspension. The recipient vitiligo patches are deepithelialized (surface skin removed by dermabrasion), and the cell suspension is applied and dressed. Over the following weeks, the transplanted melanocytes repopulate the depigmented skin.
This is a surgical procedure that requires experience in tissue handling and graft processing — our surgical team's background in General Surgery is directly relevant here.
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