Treatment of stable and recalcitrant vitiligo by autologous miniature punch grafting: A prospective study of 1,000 patients

Background: Stable and refractory vitiligo may be unresponsive to medical t herapy. Melanocyte transplantation by punch grafting (PG) can restore the n ormal pigmentation. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of PG on repigmenta tion of vitiligo patches. Methods: Autologous miniature PG was undertaken i n 1,000 patients with stable and recalcitrant vitiligo. Test grafting (TG) was done in all the patients. Those who showed negative TG results were exc luded from the study. Results: Of the 1,000 patients, 880 (88%) showed posi tive TG results. In 656 (74.55%) patients, 90-100% repigmentation was achie ved. In 93 (10.57%) patients, there was no spread of pigment, while in 21 ( 2.39%) patients depigmentation of the graft(s) was notices. Of various comp lications, polka dot appearance (43.98%) and colour mismatch (34.32%) were most frequent. Conclusion: Partial to near-total repigmentation of a vitili go patch can be achieved by PG.