Wood's lamp for vitiligo disease stability and early recognition of initiative pigmentation after epidermal grafting

Abstract

The prerequisite for a successful vitiligo epidermal grafting surgery is the stable status of the disease. We used Wood's lamp to assess vitiligo activity to determine the disease stability, surgical grafting timing and the early recognition of re-pigmentation after grafting. Amelanotic lesions with sharply demarcated borders are typically stable and are good candidates for grafting. The re-pigmentation was first recognised under Wood's lamp as hypochromic islands, which progressed to normally pigmented islands. For patients more prone to relapse, follow up with Wood's lamp also provides more accurate surveillance.

Epidermal grafting for leukoderma resulting from 1064‐nm quality‐switched neodymium‐doped yttrium aluminium garnet laser toning

“…Therefore, we used epidermal grafting harvested by an automatic system (Cellutome) to transfer normal melanocytes to the hypopigmented area. Its advantages over traditional suction blister epidermal grafting include decreased time, less pain, and no hyperpigmentation at the donor site …”

“…Its advantages over traditional suction blister epidermal grafting include decreased time, less pain, and no hyperpigmentation at the donor site. 6 Melanin absorbs light emitted by Wood's lamp and, thereby, diminishes the intensity of the fluorescence signal. Laser-induced hypopigmentation can be accentuated under Wood's lamp or UV image under Wood's light from loss of epidermal melanin and decreased melanocytes.…”

The Role of Diagnostic Approaches to Determine the Treatment

“…Wood's light examination is also quite important after the diagnosis of vitiligo in the evaluation of the response to the therapy by observing the dotted repigmentation. Furthermore, it is important for the detection of newly developed lesions that can not be recognized by naked eye (35).…”

Clinical Observation and Proposed Classification of Vitiliginous Patches by a Wood’s Lamp

“…Since ultraviolet (UV) light photography is based on the principle that UV rays are more selectively absorbed by melanin than visible light [2] [3] [4], the differences between depigmented lesions can be distinguished more clearly via observation under a Wood's lamp than under a normal lamp. It is more important than ever to define a progressive versus stable status and predict the treatment efficacy for each vitiliginous patch, not only visually but also with the help of a Wood's lamp, with recent developments in therapeutic options for vitiligo.…”