ABSTRACT
Vitiligo, affecting about 1% of the general population worldwide, is an acquired disease of unknown etiology characterized by focal or widespread hypo-or depigmentation of skin, mucous membranes, and hair and is accompanied by loss of melanocytes. Vitiliginous patients generally have good general health, but its negative esthetic effects are detrimental to one’s self-esteem; in nonwhite races, loss of pigment can invite significant social stigma. Topical corticosteroids (1,2) and phototherapy (3,4) are established conventional treatments, but their success rates are variable. In patients who fail to repigment with these treatments and whose lesions are stable, autologous epidermal grafting using roofs of suction blisters can produce significant cosmetically acceptable improvement of repigmentation. The method of treating vitiliginous areas using autologous epidermal grafts obtained from the roofs of suction blisters is simple. It consists of three major steps: Production of bullae from donor site, preparation of the
recipient site, and harvesting of donor epidermal grafts (roofs or bullae) and transferral to the recipient site.
