Efficacy of 1-mm minigrafts in treating vitiligo depends on patient age, disease site and vitiligo subtype

Vitiligo vulgaris is a refractory skin disease. Treatment modalities include topical steroids, phototherapy, suction blister roof grafts and cellular grafting techniques. Adverse effects may occur, however, and some cases remain unresponsive to treatment. To evaluate the efficacy of small (1‐mm) pun...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of dermatology 2011-12, Vol.38 (12), p.1140-1145
Main Authors: KATO, Hiroshi, FURUHASHI, Takuya, ITO, Erika, KANEKO, Natsumi, NAKAMURA, Motoki, WATANABE, Shoichi, SHINTANI, Yoichi, MAEDA, Akira, YAMAGUCHI, Yuji, MORITA, Akimichi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
1-mm minigraft
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
narrow-band ultraviolet B
Skin Pigmentation
Skin Transplantation - methods
suction blister roof graft
surgical treatment
Treatment Outcome
Vitiligo - classification
Vitiligo - pathology
Vitiligo - surgery
vitiligo vulgaris
Young Adult
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Vitiligo vulgaris is a refractory skin disease. Treatment modalities include topical steroids, phototherapy, suction blister roof grafts and cellular grafting techniques. Adverse effects may occur, however, and some cases remain unresponsive to treatment. To evaluate the efficacy of small (1‐mm) punch minigraft therapy in relation to patient age, disease site, disease duration and vitiligo subtype. We used a recently developed disposable 1.0‐mm punch apparatus to perform minigraft therapy in 20 patients with either generalized (n = 4), segmental (n = 9) or limited (n = 7) vitiligo, and evaluated the area and rate of repigmentation in relation to patient age, disease site, disease duration and vitiligo subtype. The area of repigmentation was significantly greater in patients with segmental vitiligo (n = 9) than in those with generalized vitiligo (n = 4). Repigmentation covered a broader area and occurred more quickly in patients under 15 years of age than in those over 20 years of age (n = 9). Disease duration did not affect the repigmentation rate. The results of the present study suggest that 1‐mm minigrafts are effective for treating patients with vitiligo. Better results occurred in patients under 15 years of age, patients with facial grafts, and patients with segmental and limited subtypes.
ISSN:0385-2407
1346-8138
DOI:10.1111/j.1346-8138.2010.01184.x