A comparative study of the mini-punch grafting and hair follicle transplantation in the treatment of refractory and stable vitiligo.

BACKGROUND

Some vitiligo lesions are resistant to all medical treatments.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to compare the efficacy of hair follicle transplantation and mini-punch grafting for the treatment of refractory vitiligo lesions.

METHODS

A total of 25 patients with stable and resistant vitiligo participated in the study. In each patient, a resistant vitiligo patch was divided into 2 equal parts. One part was treated with hair follicle transplantation and the other part with mini-punch grafting. Postsurgically, the recipient areas were exposed to narrowband ultraviolet B twice a week for 6 months. The diameter of the repigmentation around each graft was measured monthly.

RESULTS

At the end of the sixth month, 68% of follicle grafts, and 72% of mini-punch grafts, had repigmentation. The mean diameter of repigmentation around follicle grafts was 5 ± 1.7 mm and around punch grafts was 5.3 ± 1.6 mm. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups statistically (P = .18).

LIMITATIONS

Small sample size and short time of follow-up are limitations.

CONCLUSIONS

Because the results of the 2 methods are not statistically different and mini-punch grafting is much easier to do than follicular transplantation, we recommend mini-punch grafting to treat drug-resistant vitiligo.