Electrofulguration-assisted dermabrasion is comparable to manual dermabrasion in patients undergoing autologous non-cultured epidermal cell suspension for treatment of stable vitiligo: A randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

Recipient site preparation is a crucial step in non-cultured epidermal cell suspension (NCES) as it facilitates proper uptake of the grafted melanocytes. To compare the repigmentation rate of recipient sites prepared with manual dermabrasion (MD) versus electrofulguration-assisted dermabrasion (EF) in patients undergoing NCES for treatment of stable vitiligo. This was a prospective randomized study including 26 patients of stable vitiligo (VIDA 0 or -1), each having two patches of size greater than 3×3cm located symmetrically or at the same site or a single patch of 6×6cm or larger. After randomization of patches in the given patient, MD and EF were performed on recipient areas followed by NCES. The patients were followed up at 4weekly intervals up to 24weeks and assessed for extent of repigmentation and adverse effects if any. Greater than 75% repigmentation was observed in 69.3% of the patches prepared by MD as compared to 73.1% patches prepared by EF at the end of 24weeks (p=0.791). The mean improvement in target VASI was 64.0% in the MD group as compared to 68.8% in the EF group (p=0.21). Patches prepared by EF achieved successful repigmentation earlier as compared to patches prepared by MD (9.4weeks vs 11.4weeks, p=0.12). Both MD and EF have comparable outcomes with respect to all parameters.