Badeh Nabil Zraik
National Center for Vitiligo & Psoriasis, Saudi Arabia
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Clin Pediatr Dermatol
Vitiligo is a chronic disorder, primarily believed to be of autoimmune origin. The natural course of the disease is characterized by periods of progression and remission, which remains unpredictable in spite of many advances in its pathogenesis and treatment. Medical therapies are considered as first choice to treat all types of vitiligo. However, it is increasingly known and documented that segmental vitiligo, lesions located on glabrous skin and with leukotrichia respond poorly to medical therapies. Surgical methods are useful to restore pigment in such cases and are being used more often. Surgical methods can be divided into tissue grafting such as punch graft, blister graft, and split thickness skin graft and cellular grafting which include cultured and non-cultured cell transplantation. Noncultured melanocyte-keratinocyte transplantation (MKTP) has many advantages over other methods and gives excellent cosmetic results in most of the treated cases. It is available only at select centers due to regulatory issues and lack of training. In addition to vitiligo, post burn leukoderma, piebaldism, chemical leukoderma, halo nevus were treated successfully with MKTP. The technique is being practiced for about 17 years at our center.
Badeh Nabil Zraik has completed his master's at the age of 29 years and studied medicine and finished his post graduate studies from Tishreen University, faculty of medicine, Lattakia, Syria.
E-mail: badehzraik@yahoo.com