Vitiligo is a disorder of pigmentation in which melanocytes (the cells that make pigment) in the skin are destroyed. As a result, white patches appear on the skin in different parts of the body. Similar patches also appear on both the mucous membranes (tissues that line the inside of the mouth and nose), and the retina (inner layer of the eyeball). The hair that grows on areas affected by vitiligo sometimes turns white. Treatment comprises of medical line of treatment which includes topical medications and/or ointments with or without corticosteriods. A treatment frequently used is the application or ingestion of psoralens followed by exposure to ultra-violet light (sun light). This combined treatment is known as PUVA or PUVB. Patients not responding to this line of treatment can undergo surgical therapies such as tattooing, excison and primary suture, epidermal grafting Thiersch's grafting, dermabrasion and skin grafting, and autologous miniature punch grafting.
