ABSTRACT
Repigmentation potential of stable vitiligo patches depends upon the melanocyte reservoir. Thus, many vitiligo patients stop responding to medical repigmentative maneuvers, even after achieving stability. When stable vitiligo does not adequately respond any more to standard medical and phototherapeutic modalities, replenishing the melanocyte reservoir is the logical thing to do. Traditionally, tissue grafts have been the most commonly performed surgeries for vitiligo. However, tissue grafts generally function by “replacing” the entire affected skin rather than just replenishing the melanocyte reservoir. With the advent of cellular grafting, we are able to replenish only the deficient components and hence achieve more natural outcomes. The most commonly performed, studied, and evolved cellular grafting method in vitiligo is non-cultured epidermal cell suspension (NCES) transfer.
