Spontaneous Repigmentation Of Vitiligo Patches Other Than The Grafted Site

Abstract

While surgically treating vitiligo by autologous punch grafts, spontaneous re-pigmentation was observed incidentally on patches other than the grafted sites. Based on this observation, the study was undertaken to see the effect of the grafts on re-pigmentation of other patches. Twenty patients with sixty-seven patches of stable and refractory vitiligo of 2 â€"16 yr duration constituted the study group. The patients were followed up for 10 months. Spontaneous re-pigmentation occurred in 23 sites of 8 patients. The patches started re-pigmenting spontaneously at the time of initiation of the perigraft pigment spread. The rate and extent of spontaneous re-pigmentation were more compared to the perigraft pigment spread. The study inspired us to search for the unknown stimulation of the yet- silent melanocytes becoming active after the surgical procedure.