| Dr. Sanchika Gupta (Dermatologist / Trichologist)
| Dr. Sanchika Gupta (Dermatologist / Trichologist)
Vitiligo Surgery
Vitiligo is a disease that causes loss of skin color in patches. The discolored areas usually get bigger with time. The condition can affect the skin on any part of the body. It can also affect hair and the inside of the mouth.
Normally, the color of hair and skin is determined by melanin. Vitiligo occurs when cells that produce melanin die or stop functioning.
Vitiligo affects people of all skin types, but it may be more noticeable in people with darker skin. The condition is not life-threatening or contagious. It can be stressful or make you feel bad about yourself.
Treatment for vitiligo may restore color to the affected skin. But it doesn’t prevent recurrence.
Symptoms
Vitiligo signs include:
Patchy loss of skin color, which usually first appears on the hands, face, and areas around body openings and the genitals
Premature whitening or graying of the hair on your scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows or beard
Loss of color in the tissues that line the inside of your mouth and nose (mucous membranes)
Surgery
If light therapy and medications haven’t worked, some people with stable disease may be candidates for surgery. The following techniques are intended to even out skin tone by restoring color:
Skin grafting. In this procedure, our doctor transfers very small sections of your healthy, pigmented skin to areas that have lost pigment. This procedure is sometimes used if you have small patches of vitiligo.
Blister grafting. In this procedure, our doctor creates blisters on your pigmented skin, usually with suction, and then transplants the tops of the blisters to discolored skin.
Cellular suspension transplant. In this procedure, our doctor takes some tissue on your pigmented skin, puts the cells into a solution and then transplants them onto the prepared affected area. The results of this repigmentation procedure start showing up within four weeks.
| Dr. Sanchika Gupta (Dermatologist / Trichologist)