Skin seeding technique with 0.5-mm micropunch grafting for vitiligo irrespective of the epidermal-dermal orientation: Animal and clinical studies

Management of the refractory vitiligo patient: current therapeutic strategies and future options

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease that leads to disfiguring depigmented lesions of skin and mucosa. Although effective treatments are available for vitiligo, there are still some patients with poor responses to conventional treatment. Refractory vitiligo lesions are mostly located on exposed sites such as acral sites and lips, leading to significant life stress. Understanding the causes of refractory vitiligo and developing targeted treatments are essential to enhance vitiligo outcomes. In this review, we summarized recent treatment approaches and some potential methods for refractory vitiligo. Janus kinase inhibitors have shown efficacy in refractory vitiligo. A variety of surgical interventions and fractional carbon dioxide laser have been widely applied to combination therapies. Furthermore, melanocyte regeneration and activation therapies are potentially effective strategies. Patients with refractory vitiligo should be referred to psychological monitoring and interventions to reduce the potential pathogenic effects of chronic stress. Finally, methods for depigmentation and camouflage may be beneficial in achieving uniform skin color and improved quality of life. Our ultimate focus is to provide alternative options for refractory vitiligo and to bring inspiration to future research.

Surgical interventions for vitiligo

Since nonsurgical treatment of vitiligo is not always successful, surgical interventions are viable options for patients with refractory vitiligo. Surgical treatment is a method in which melanocytes of normal skin are transplanted into vitiligo lesions and provided as a repigmentation source. Such treatments are primarily divided into tissue grafting and cellular grafting, depending on the nature of the graft. Tissue grafting includes split-thickness skin grafting, suction blister grafting, punch grafting, hair follicle transplantation, and smashed-skin grafting. Cellular grafting includes non-cultured epidermal cell suspension transplantation, non-cultured follicular cell suspension transplantation, and cultured epidermal cell suspension transplantation. Among these, suction blister grafting and micro-punch grafting have been widely performed for localized refractory vitiligo, and non-cultured epidermal cell suspension transplantation is adopted as the standard treatment for extensive vitiligo. Research on cultured cellular grafting to treat larger vitiligo areas is also ongoing. Selecting patients with stable vitiligo that has not spread for over 12 months is the most critical factor in the surgical outcome. It is also important to choose an appropriate surgical modality for each patient, and a combination of various procedures often improves the overall outcome. In conclusion, surgical intervention can be an effective and safe option for patients with vitiligo refractory to conventional treatments. Non-cultured epidermal cell suspension transplantation, which was denied by New Health Technology Assessment in Korea, should be approved to benefit patients with refractory vitiligo.