What is Vitiligo?
Skin colour is determined by a special pigment called Melanin. Vitiligo appears when skin pigment cells (Melanocytes) are unable to function or when they die.The precise cause behind Vitiligo is currently unknown but research does suggest that it may arise from an autoimmune condition where a person’s’ body destroys its own melanocytes that results in noticeable white patches on the skin. In addition, stress, family history of vitiligo, overexposure to sun or viral causes.
Vitiligo is also classified into two main categories
1.Localized vitiligo : manifests as one or more areas of pigment-loss on only one side of the body. It occurs most commonly in children and teenagers.
2.Generalized Vitiligo: symmetrical depigmentation patches occur. New patches can occur over time and can be over large areas of the body.
Generalized vitiligo can occur at any age whereas localized vitiligo is more likely to occur in the teenage years.
Diagnosis and treatment
Vitiligo is not a life-threatening condition; however, it can have a big impact on of the sufferer’s psychological and psychosocial wellbeing. Though there is currently no cure for Vitiligo, there are treatments available. As a rule of thumb, the earlier you begin treatment, the better the results would be.
Various surgical methods are followed at our clinic to treat Vitiligo and other similar skin diseases.
- Punch grafting
- Blister roof grafting
- Split thickness skin grafting
- Melanocyte transplantation
Melanocyte transplantation
The most advanced among these is melanocyte transplantation which gives excellent cosmetic results with minimum or no side effects. It is a safe and simple Outpatient procedure and multiple areas can be treated simultaneously.
Melanocyte transplantation involves grafting the skin cells on the affected area (white patches). The cosmetic result with this treatment is better than other surgical options like skin grafting. In this method, a thin layer of skin is taken from the normal skin (usually thighs) and the skin cells are separated and grafted onto the affected area.
The advantages of this technique are – only a small area of skin is needed to cover large areas of white patches, no scarring, good cosmesis, can be done as an outpatient procedure & does not require general anesthesia.
If you suffer from Vitiligo or if you know someone else that does, we highly recommend beginning the treatment.