Plastic surgery

Melanocyte transplantation is a successful treatment for vitiligo

Vitiligo-affected areas of the skin are devoid of pigmentation and remain white. Vitiligo does not cause pain, but significantly reduces the quality of life of patients, especially if white spots on the skin occupy a large area. Various procedures, both therapeutic and laser, are used to treat vitiligo, but most often they do not give the desired effect – either the result is unstable or insufficiently expressed. Among the new treatments for vitiligo, the transplantation of melanocytes to the affected areas of the skin is noted by experts as very encouraging.

 The cause of discolored spots on the skin in vitiligo is the death of melanocytes in the epidermis, which stops the production of melanin, and some areas of the skin remain uncolored – ivory or milky, with well-defined borders. The exact causes of vitiligo are unknown. Depigmented spots on the skin can appear due to genetic predisposition, and due to some congenital diseases, and after thermal burns – solar or laser, and due to neuroendocrine diseases or autoimmune processes.

Treatment of vitiligo is a difficult problem for a dermatologist, since absolutely effective methods have not yet been developed. Among the latest innovations, surgical methods show good results, in particular, the transplantation of the patient's melanocytes from healthy areas of the skin to depigmented skin plots.

 Indications for melanocyte transplantation in the treatment of vitiligo

The best results with melanocyte transplantation are obtained in patients with focal or segmental types of vitiligo. The selection of vitiligo patients for melanocyte transplantation is based on the following criteria:

foci of depigmented skin caused by thermal burns;

presence of piebaldism or Setton's nevus in anamnesis;

Vitiligo spots have not changed in size for the last six months.

To obtain a good result with melanocyte transplantation, it is important that the vitiligo process is stabilized. This means the following:

Vitiligo lesions do not increase;

new depigmented spots do not appear on other parts of the body;

after injury in other areas, the skin heals with normal color.

If the depigmented area is large in size, melanocyte transplantation takes place in several stages. In about 30% of cases, repeated cell transplantation is required to achieve a good result in the treatment of vitiligo. Skin pigmentation is especially effectively restored when melanocytes are transplanted in the genital area, on the area of ​​the breast nipples, on the articular surfaces.

 The essence of the operation for transplantation of melanocytes in vitiligo

Melanocyte transplantation procedure for vitiligo consists in extracting healthy melanocytes from a thin layer of normal pigmented skin (most often taken from the gluteal region) and further processing to obtain a cell suspension, which is then injected into the depigmented area. Before the introduction, the skin area with vitiligo is subjected to cosmetic treatment to remove the old layer of the epidermis – with laser or dermabrasion.

After melanocyte transplantation, the treated area of ​​the skin is covered with a special dressing, which ensures the engraftment of the transplanted cells and prevents postoperative infection. After a week, the bandage can be removed. The patient should be warned that the skin after transplantation of melanocytes and removal of the dressing will have a bright red color, and repigmentation can be observed only after 6-12 weeks.

Approximately three weeks after melanocyte transplantation, the transplanted area is irradiated with ultraviolet light for about three months. The maximum effect after transplantation of melanocytes can be observed six months after the operation.


  • Comments (1)

    Лаура#2445
    25 февраля 2018, 08:30

    Добрый день, а как проходит процесс, операции? И можно-ли, сделать?


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