Letter to the editor: nevus depigmentosus needs transplant of epidermal sheets

Modalities of treatment for Nevus depigmentosus: review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Nevus depigmentosus (ND) is one of the pigmentary conditions that is characterized by a hypopigmented patch with an irregular border. It is usually present at birth or shortly after birth. It is not a progressive condition, but it may increase in size in proportion to the growth of the body. Despite many treatment modalities, there is no effective treatment for this condition.

OBJECTIVE

To review all articles about the treatment options for ND.

METHODS

Pubmed database were searched for this study, and relative clinical trials were included in the review. Descriptive findings, including age, gender, and treatment modality and response, were reported.

RESULTS

A total of 62 articles were identified, and 16 relevant articles were included in this review after screening and removing the duplicates.

CONCLUSION

In the literature, a limited number of treatment modalities have been employed for ND. Among these, surgical interventions and phototherapy have been the most commonly studied, but their efficacy has varied. Unfortunately, there is no definitive cure for ND, and recurrence of the lesion is not an uncommon occurrence even after complete clearance. Furthermore, there is a dearth of large-scale clinical studies that comprehensively analyze the different treatment modalities for ND.

Nevus Depigmentosus Treated with Suction Blister Grafting: Follow-up After 10 Years

Nevus depigmentosus is a congenital hypomelanotic condition for which no effective treatments are available. The hypopigmentation is permanent and enlarges in proportion with growth in the person. Here, I report a patient of nevus depigmentosus on whom we performed suction blister grafting and the resultant pigmentation was satisfactory even at a follow-up after 10 years.

Nevus depigmentosus treated by melanocyte-keratinocyte transplantation

Background:

Nevus depigmentosus is a congenital, nonprogressive hypopigmented disorder. Various therapeutic methods have been attempted to repigment nevus with variable results.

Objective:

The objective of this study is to report our experience of treatment of nevus depigmentosus with a combination of noncultured melanocyte–keratinocyte transplantation (MKTP) and excimer laser sessions.

Materials and Methods:

Six patients (male 1, female 5) of nevus depigmentosus were treated with a combination of noncultured melanocyte–keratinocyte transplantation and excimer laser. One patient was lost to follow-up. Remaining five patients were observed for a period ranging from 7 to 30 months.

Results:

Two patients responded poorly to MKTP. The remaining three patients responded with repigmentation ranging from 80% to 100% but the quality of repigmentation was unsatisfactory in two of them.

Conclusion:

Though repigmentation of nevus depigmentosus is possible by grafting techniques, the results are inconsistent and recurrence is possible.

Vitiligo Coexistent with Nevus Depigmentosus: This Was Treated with Narrow-Band UVB and These Lesions Were Followed Using the Mexameter®, a Pigment-Measuring Device

Nevus depigmentosus (ND) is a congenital, non-progressive, hypopigmented lesion that is usually stable throughout an affected individual's lifetime. The clinical features of vitiligo are similar to those of ND, but the two diseases have different treatment responses and prognoses. We report here on a rare case of vitiligo that was coexistent with ND. Both conditions were treated with narrow-band UVB. An 11-year-old boy presented with two distinct types of hypopigmented lesions, one on the forehead and the other on his back. The first was a hypopigmented patch with leukotrichia, and it was incidentally discovered 3 months before the child was examined at our clinic and it had rapidly increased in size. The second hypopigmented patch was detected at birth and it had slowly been increasing in size. The hypopigmented lesion on the child's forehead was diagnosed as vitiligo, and the one on his back as ND. Once- or twice-weekly narrow-band UVB treatment was initiated. Improvements in the two lesions were assessed with clinical photography and using a Mexameter® (Courage-Khazaka Electronic, Germany), which is a pigment-measuring device.