Recipient-to-Donor Ratios in the Surgical Treatment of Vitiligo, Leukoderma, and Piebaldism: A Retrospective Review

The autologous noncultured melanocyte keratinocyte transplant procedure (MKTP) has emerged as a popular grafting technique with proven efficacy for achieving repigmentation. However, there remains no consensus regarding the optimal recipient-to-donor (RD) ratio required to achieve acceptable repigmentation. In this retrospective cohort study of 120 patients, we sought to examine whether expansion ratios impact the repigmentation success rates following MKTP.

A total of 69 patients (mean [SD] age was 32.4 [14.3] years, mean follow-up was 30.4 [22.5] months, 63.8% were male; 55% were dark-skinned individuals [Fitzpatrick IV-VI]) were included. The mean percent change in the Vitiligo Area Scoring Index (VASI) was 80.2 (±23.7; RD of 7.3) in patients with focal/segmental vitiligo (SV), 58.3 (±33.0; RD of 8.2) in those with non-segmental vitiligo (NSV), and 51.8 (±33.6; RD of 3.7) in those with leukoderma and piebaldism. Focal/SV was positively associated with a higher percent change in VASI (parameter estimate: 22.6, p value <0.005). In the SV/focal group, non-white patients had a higher RD ratio compared to White individuals (8.2 ± 3.4 vs. 6.0 ± 3.1, respectively, p value = 0.035).

In our study, we found that patients with SV were significantly more likely to achieve higher repigmentation rates compared to those with NSV. Although repigmentation rates were higher in the low expansion ratio group than in the high expansion ratio group, we did not observe a significant difference between the two groups.

MKTP is an effective therapy for restoring repigmentation in patients with stable vitiligo. Therapeutic response of vitiligo to MKTP appears to be influenced by the type of vitiligo, rather than a specific RD ratio.