Successful Treatment of Stable Vitiligo by Low-Density Cultured Autologous Melanocyte Transplantation Combined with Narrowband Ultraviolet B Therapy

BACKGROUND Cultured autologous melanocyte transplantation (CMT) is an effective treatment for stable vitiligo, but the current method is time consuming and expensive because of the requirement of a large number of melanocytes. OBJECTIVE To assess the clinical effect of low-density CMT combined with narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) in treating stable vitiligo. MATERIALS AND METHODS The authors treated 8 patients with CMT at a low cell density (less than 2.5 × 104 cells/cm2). Among them, 6 patients underwent NB-UVB therapy after CMT. RESULTS All the 6 patients treated with low-density CMT combined with NB-UVB obtained more than 90% repigmentation at the 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSION The authors' data suggest that low-density CMT combined with NB-UVB can be an effective form of surgical treatment for stable vitiligo.