A prospective observational study of follicular unit excision grafting for the management of stable vitiligo

Abstract

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Vitiligo is a common acquired idiopathic and often, familial hypomelanosis, which is characterized by pale white macules that enlarges centrifugally over time. In India, vitiligo is associated with marked social stigma, thus demanding its effective management. Stable vitiligo lesions known to be relatively refractory medical therapy require surgical therapies like skin grafting or grafting of invitro cultured and non-cultured melanocytes or follicular unit excision (FUE) grafting.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> A prospective observational study was done on patients of stable vitiligo. A total of 20 patients were enrolled and underwent FUE grafting for study of effectiveness and complication.<strong></strong></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> A total of 20 patients of stable vitiligo were studied with or without leukotrichia in which good to excellent response was seen in 13 (65%), fair in 6 (30%) and poor in 1 (5%) patients.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> FUE is a superior and upcoming methodology which is cost effective, reliable, less disfiguring, very low morbidity and results in good color match in patients with stable vitiligo.</p>