Single hair grafting for the treatment of vitiligo

Background: Vitiligo is a disease of unknown cause, and many medical and surgical therapeutic methods are used to treat it. Objective: Our purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of single hair grafting in patients with vitiligo. Methods: Single hairs were grafted into vitiliginous areas of 21 patients. The diameter of the spreading pigmentation was evaluated periodically. Results: Perifollicular repigmentation around the grafted hair was observed in 15 patients (71%) within 2 to 8 weeks. The diameter of the spreading pigmentation ranged from 2 to 10 mm during a 12-month follow-up period. In cases of generalized vitiligo, perifollicular pigmentation was seen in one of four patients (25%), whereas it was observed in 14 of 17 patients (82%) with localized/segmental vitiligo. Transformation of depigmented hairs into pigmented ones occurred in five patients. Conclusion: Single hair grafting appears to be an effective method for treating localized/segmental vitiligo, especially on hairy parts of the skin, including the eyelids and eyebrows, and for small areas of vitiligo.