title: Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing and thin skin grafting in the treatment of "stable and recalcitrant" vitiligo.
abstract: Various surgical methods have been used in the treatment of small stable vitiliginous areas, but there is no established surgical approach for larger vitiligo areas and therapy-resistant anatomic sites, such as the hands. Two years ago, we successfully treated large burn scar depigmentation areas at different anatomic sites using carbon dioxide laser resurfacing and thin (0.2 to 0.3 mm) skin grafting. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of our method in treating large, stable, and recalcitrant vitiligo areas. Thirteen anatomic sites of seven male patients, whose ages ranged from 20 to 22 years, were treated. The locations of the treated areas were as follows: seven areas on the dorsum of the hands, two areas on the forearms, two areas in the pretibial region, one area on the lateral thigh, and one area in the presternal region. The surface area of treated vitiligo sites ranged from 0.5 to 6 percent of total body surface area (mean, 2.5 percent). Skin graft take was excellent in all patients except for one. The follow-up period for these patients ranged from 6 to 18 months, with an average follow-up period of 14 months. Early and complete repigmentation was achieved and the color match was good or excellent in all patients. No depigmentation occurred again in the treated areas or graft donor sites. In conclusion, with careful patient selection and delicate surgical technique, our method was effective in treating large areas of vitiligo over the extremities and dorsum of hands, which were refractory to other therapies and could not be hidden.
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Burn Unit, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Haydarpasa Hospital, 81327 Uskudar, Istanbul, Turkey. cengizacikel@ixir.com
authors.forename: Cengiz
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Acikel
authors.forename: Ersin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ulkur
authors.forename: Bahattin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Celikoz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000379:methods; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D014820:Vitiligo / Q000601:surgery*
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide