Successful Treatment of Stable Vitiligo by Low-Density Cultured Autologous Melanocyte Transplantation Combined With Narrowband Ultraviolet B Therapy.

BACKGROUND

Cultured autologous melanocyte transplantation (CMT) is an effective treatment for stable vitiligo, but the current method is time consuming and expensive because of the requirement of a large number of melanocytes.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the clinical effect of low-density CMT combined with narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) in treating stable vitiligo.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

The authors treated 8 patients with CMT at a low cell density (less than 2.5 × 10 cells/cm). Among them, 6 patients underwent NB-UVB therapy after CMT.

RESULTS

All the 6 patients treated with low-density CMT combined with NB-UVB obtained more than 90% repigmentation at the 1-year follow-up.

CONCLUSION

The authors' data suggest that low-density CMT combined with NB-UVB can be an effective form of surgical treatment for stable vitiligo.