A surgical treatment for vitiligo: autologous cultured-epithelial grafts

Medical treatment of vitiligo has been disappointing; therefore surgical treatments using autologous grafts have been tried. We investigated a new technique in which normally pigmented epidermal cells from a vitiligo patient were cultured on a collagen-coated membrane in MCDB-153, a media that supports melanocytes and keratinocytes. The cell/collagen-coated membrane was used to cover a superficially dermabraded vitiliginous area. Clinical repigmentation, though incomplete, was evident in three of four patients in 4 weeks. Immunofluorescence and electron microscopy were performed on the grafted areas (involved and uninvolved controls). These studies demonstrate the reappearance of melanocytes and melanosomes within the grafted area. All three patients who were successfully repigmented retained their pigment at 1 year follow-up. Further investigation of this promising treatment for vitiligo is warranted.