Evaluation of treatment response to autologous transplantation of noncultured melanocyte/keratinocyte cell suspension in patients with stable vitiligo

Background: vitiligo is a chronic disease characterized by the appearance of achromic macules caused by melanocyte destruction. surgical treatments with melanocyte transplantation can be used for stable vitiligo cases. objectives: to evaluate treatment response to the autologous transplantation of noncultured epidermal cell suspension in patients with stable vitiligo. methods: case series study in patients with stable vitiligo submitted to noncultured epidermal cell suspension transplantation and evaluated at least once,between 3 and 6 months after the procedure,to observe repigmentation and possible adverse effects. the maximum follow-up period for some patients was 24 months. results: of the 20 patients who underwent 24 procedures,25% showed an excellent rate of repigmentation,50% good repigmentation,15% regular,and 10% poor response. the best results were observed in face and neck lesions,while the worst in extremity lesions (88% and 33% of satisfactory responses,respectively). patients with segmental vitiligo had a better response (84%) compared to non-segmental ones (63%). as side effects were observed hyperpigmentation of the treated area and the appearance of koebner phenomenon in the donor area. study limitations: some limitations of the study included the small number of patients,a subjective evaluation,and the lack of long-term follow-up on the results. conclusion: noncultured epidermal cell suspension transplantation is efficient and well tolerated for stable vitiligo treatment,especially for segmental vitiligo on the face and neck. © 2017 by anais brasileiros de dermatologia.