Suction blister grafting with CO₂ laser resurfacing of the graft recipient site for vitiligo

Update on skin repigmentation therapies in vitiligo

“…Recipient sites are prepared by epidermis removal with liquid nitrogen freezing, superficial dermabrasion (van Geel et al., 2001), erbium YAG laser (Pai et al.,2002), CO 2 laser (Hasegawa et al., 2007) or ultrapulse CO 2 laser (Oh et al., 2001). Blisters grafts are transferred with a thin spatula or acetate films onto recipient sites (Albert and Shenoi, 2001) and covered with non‐adherent dressings for 5 days.…”

Advanced Treatment Modalities for Vitiligo

“…In this technique, a negative pressure apparatus producing À300 to À500 mmHg of pressure is applied to the normally pigmented donor site to promote the formation of multiple epidermal blisters. 36 The recipient site is prepared by removing the epidermis through induction of suction blisters, application of liquid nitrogen, PUVA, carbon dioxide laser, yttrium aluminum garnet laser, or dermabrasion 34,38,40,41 (Figure 8). The authors recommend applying a 20-mL syringe with the barrel removed to the skin with lubricant to create a seal.…”

Suction Blister Epidermal Grafts Combined with CO2 Laser Superficial Ablation as a Good Method for Treating Small-Sized Vitiligo

“…For many patients with small, stable vitiligo, suction blister epidermal grafting (SBEG) may be a promising alternative. In one study, 15 patients with segmental vitiligo were treated using SBEG with CO 2 laser resurfacing of the graft recipient site, and all had achieved 100% repigmentation at 6 months after grafting 7 . Since the publication of that study, no updated studies have been conducted with a larger patient group and a longer follow‐up period.…”

“…The currently available surgical therapies include punch grafts, split-thickness grafts, suction-blister grafts, transplantation of cultured melanocytes, and transplantation of noncultured melanocyte-keratinocyte suspensions. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] In our previous study of 120 patients with vitiligo, we used a modified procedure to culture melanocytes from a small specimen of normal pigmented skin taken from the roofs of suction blisters. 6 These autologous-cultured pure melanocytes were then transplanted onto denuded laser-abrased vitiliginous areas with successful outcomes, although surgical procedures that involve the cultivation of melanocytes require time and labora-tory space and are thus not as convenient.…”

“…In one study, 15 patients with segmental vitiligo were treated using SBEG with CO 2 laser resurfacing of the graft recipient site, and all had achieved 100% repigmentation at 6 months after grafting. 7 Since the publication of that study, no updated studies have been conducted with a larger patient group and a longer follow-up period. Therefore, we followed a group of 40 patients with small vitiligo treated using SBEG combined with CO 2 laser superficial ablation for 6 months to 10 years.…”