Noncultured epidermal suspensions obtained from partial‐thickness epidermal cuts and suction blister roofs for vitiligo treatment: A prospective comparative study

Abstract

Background The treatment options for vitiligo are either nonsurgical, including medical treatments and phototherapy, or surgical, including autologous transplantation methods. Noncultured epidermal suspension transplantation is indicated for the treatment of stable vitiligo not responding to either medical treatment or phototherapy. Variable results have been reported for the various techniques used for the preparation of this suspension. Aim To compare the outcome between suction blister roof grafts and partial‐thickness epidermal cuts for the preparation of noncultured epidermal suspensions for the treatment of stable vitiligo. Patients and Methods Forty patients with localized stable vitiligo lesions resistant to conventional therapy were included in the study. They were randomly divided into two groups for treatment with noncultured epidermal suspension grafting. The suspensions in groups I and II were obtained from suction blister roofs and partial‐thickness epidermal cuts, respectively. Repigmentation grade, color match with the surrounding skin, and any side effects were compared between the groups. Results In group I, complete repigmentation was achieved in 6 cases while repigmentation was considered excellent in 8 cases; very good, 4 cases; and no response, 2 cases. In group II, complete repigmentation was achieved in 4 cases, and repigmentation was considered excellent in 16 cases. The color of the repigmented area matched the normal surrounding skin in 70% of the cases in group I and 40% of the cases in group II. Conclusion Both techniques yielded comparable repigmentation results with advantages and disadvantages of both techniques.

Clinicopathological evaluation of the donor area following autologous suction blister epithelial grafting vs Thiersch grafting in vitiligo patients: A preliminary study

“…Our research group clinically evaluated the pigmentation outcome in nonsegmental stable vitiligo patients treated by NCES prepared by both techniques was done by our research group. The study revealed a comparable repigmentation results with no statistical difference between the two groups 3 . This is supported by the fact that the number of keratinocytes and melanocytes in the suspension was also more or less the same with no statistical difference 4…”

Surgical Interventions for Patients With Vitiligo

“…We analyzed a total of 117 unique studies with 8776 unique patients (eTable 1 in the Supplement), including 19 studies with 1631 patients in the punch grafting group, 10 studies with 718 patients in the thin skin grafting group, 29 studies with 2652 patients in the suction blister grafting group, 45 studies with 2209 patients in the noncultured epidermal cell suspension (NCES) group, 9 studies with 185 patients in the noncultured follicular cell suspension (NCFS) group, and 17 studies with 1381 patients in the cultured epidermal cell suspension (CES) group; 11 studies included more than 1 procedure type. The median follow-up duration was 7 (range, 2-108) months.…”

Microneedling and5‐flurouracilcan enhance the efficacy ofnon‐culturedepidermal cell suspension transplantation for resistant acral vitiligo

“…In 2008, Awad 9 used a Chinese cupping device to induce blisters for NCES transplantation without any cosmetic disfigurements at the donor sites. Recently, Anbar et al 21 reported no significant difference in the clinical outcome between NCES prepared from partial‐thickness epidermal cuts and those prepared from suction blisters induced by a Chinese cupping device. However, patients underwent the former technique showed hyperpigmentation in two patients and variable degrees of scarring in 18 patients, while all patients underwent the latter technique showed hyperpigmentation at the donor sites that faded over time.…”