Vitiligo Grafting: How Effective Is It?

Vitiligo is a pigmentary disorder affecting about 1% of the population and can manifest in people of varied age, race, or gender. It is said to be associated with autoimmunity (a condition where your own immune system attacks your body cells, mistaking them for infection). While it is painless and non-contagious, people who suffer from vitiligo are burdened with emotional distress and social stigma from the way the disease presents itself in white patches that grow and spread on different parts of the body as time goes by.

While there is no known cure for this disease of unknown cause, observing a healthy and stress-free lifestyle, as well as having a network of supportive loved ones can positively affect a vitiligo patient’s perspective. While this may be of great help, most of them still seek further medication and treatments to improve their condition.

Aside from topical creams, steroids, oral medication, and phototherapy, one of the treatments that are gaining popularity among patients who wish to restore color in the affected areas of their bodies is vitiligo grafting. 

Making use of surgical procedures that involve moving one tissue to another body part, vitiligo grafting, in essence, moves healthy skin cells from one of your body parts and transfers them to the vitiligo-affected area to restore pigmentation. Before the procedure is done, however, a patient is evaluated professionally based on some factors to assess eligibility and to know which one is the suitable surgical option.

For example, the size and location of the affected area are examined to make sure that the appropriate type of vitiligo grafting technique is chosen, as some methods work best in smaller areas, while others can create pigmentation changes on larger ones. Healthcare professionals involved in the treatment will also investigate the stability of the condition (i.e. how long have the white patches remained dormant in growth and unchanged over the course of the disease).

There are several types of vitiligo grafting techniques and each method has its own effectivity in terms of repigmentation rates. For example, among patients that have undergone split-thickness and suction blister grafting techniques, about 80-90% of repigmentation has been achieved. Both procedures involve obtaining layers of the skin from one body part (with the latter procedure using a suction) and applying them into the vitiligo-affected skin areas.

With a high percentage of repigmentation or restoration of skin color, such as those noted among scientific studies, vitiligo grafting holds a promising outcome for those afflicted with this aesthetically-challenging skin disorder. Measuring effectivity in terms of achieving its end goal, this surgical procedure can improve the quality of life for vitiligo patients who have long been misjudged based on social myths and stigma.

As with any other medical procedure, however, proper and professional evaluation and consultation, as well as careful post-op care, are still necessary to achieve favorable results. While vitiligo grafting may not eliminate the disease altogether, it paves the way for the scientific community to further find ways of battling a chronic and emotionally-distressing disease.