Services

• Acne
  • ClearLight
  • Photo Dynamic Therapy
• Eczema
• Psoriasis
• Pigmentation Abnormalities
  • Vitiligo
  • Melasma
• Skin Cancer
  • Types of Skin Cancer
  • Treatment Options
    • Photo Dynamic Therapy
    • 5-Fluorouracil-Efudex, Carac
    • Aldara
    • Cryosurgery
• Skin Cancer Surgery / Mohs

Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a chronic skin disorder causing white patches of skin to appear on the body due to loss of pigment. This happens when pigment-making cells in the skin, called melanocytes, are destroyed. The precise cause of vitiligo is complex and not fully understood. Some evidence suggests a combination of autoimmune, genetic and environmental factors are to blame. Vitiligo usually develops before a person's 40^th birthday and can also affect mucous membranes and the eye area.

Vitiligo's course and severity differs with each person. Vitiligo is obvious year-round on darker skinned people, while fair-skinned people usually notice the contrast between vitiligo patches and suntanned skin only in the summer.

The degree of pigment loss varies within each vitiligo patch. Different shades of pigment may appear within a patch, or a border of darker skin may encircle an area of light skin. Vitiligo often begins with a rapid loss of pigment that may continue until, for unknown reasons, the process suddenly stops. Cycles of pigment loss may follow periods of inactivity and continue indefinitely.

Sometimes the best treatment for vitiligo is no treatment at all. In mild cases, makeup and other camouflaging solutions may hide vitiligo patches. Fair-skinned people can blend in patches of vitiligo with normal skin by avoiding tanning. Safe stains that dye the skin can also help match white patches to normal skin color. Self-tanning compounds, which contain a chemical that does not require melanocytes to tan skin, can also help hide white patches. These compounds won't change the condition, but can improve its appearance.

There are various treatments available for vitiligo:

a.  In some patients early patches of vitiligo will re-pigment by using steroid creams and other non-steroid anti-inflammatory creams.

b.  Oxoralen is a compound that can induce re-pigmentation by making the skin more sensitive to light (UVA). The oxoralen therapy can be oral followed by light therapy in our office (PUVA).  For smaller areas of vitiligo the oxoralen can be applied on the skin as an ointment followed by light therapy or careful sunlight exposure.

c.  Another exciting advance in the treatment of vitiligo is by using the XTRAC Eximer Laser.  Treatments with this laser have resulted with re-pigmentation of vitiligo.