Table of Content

1. Introduction

2. Is Melanocyte Transplant A Surgical Procedure?

3. Why should you get a melanocyte transplant?

4. Is Melanocyte Transplant In Delhi a Permanent Procedure?

5. Few Fast Facts About Melanocyte Transplant

6. What is the Step-by-Step Procedure for Melanocyte Transplant? 

7. What are the Advantages of Melanocyte Transplant In Delhi?
   7.1 Benefits of Melanocyte Transplant

8. Is There Any Limitation Associated with Melanocyte Transplant In Delhi?

9. What is Melanocyte Transplant Cost In Delhi?

10. Conclusion

Introduction

The colour of the skin is highly heritable and is highly influenced by the effect of the environment, sun rays, and other endocrine factors. Many destructive factors cause the change in colour formation. This leads to pigmentation. An autoimmune disease related to hypopigmentation of the skin is called Vitiligo. It is painless, appears with white patches, and psychologically impacts the patient. Vitiligo is the kind of disease where skin melanocytes are destroyed in certain areas, leading to pigmentation. Melanocyte Transplant In Delhi is the preferred and affordable treatment for vitiligo, but only for stable vitiligo types. 

Is Melanocyte Transplant A Surgical Procedure?

Melanocyte transplantation is a surgical procedure helping to correct the skin deformity or the area devoid of melanocytes. A thin, small portion of the skin is obtained (with normal pigmentation). This site can be the patient’s thigh or buttock. From the area, melanocytes are filtered from the piece of the skin and are then made into the suspension. This liquid suspension is then applied to the hypopigmented area of the patient. Within a month, the new melanocytes start producing melanin, covering the patch and making the skin indiscernible from the surrounding skin. This procedure is also known as non-cultured epidermal cell suspension transfer,’ or ‘non-cultured cellular grafting’ or ‘melanocyte-keratinocyte transplantation procedure.’

There are also other surgical procedures for melanocytes:

• Punch Grafting
• Split-Thickness Skin Grafting, and
• Suction Blister Epidermal Grafting

Melanocyte Transplantation has distinct advantages compared to all the above-mentioned procedures for vitiligo. Melanocyte Transplantation results in a better colour match, but it requires expertise, sophistication, and devices to be applied.

Why should you get a melanocyte transplant?

Vitiligo surgery clears the colour patch developed because of whitish-pigmented skin. It is a cosmetically advanced technique that helps to complete the repigmentation of the area surrounding the normal area.

This surgery can be done quickly but require a unique eye to select the patient. This means that simply having vitiligo doesn't mean that you can opt for this surgery. Before you apply for the surgery, you must consider the factors:

• The age of the patient
• Size and location of the vitiligo patch
• Patient expectations
• Disease stability
• The proposed donor site
• The proposed method of surgery

Is Melanocyte Transplant In Delhi a Permanent Procedure?

Vitiligo is hard to treat, but because of the new advances and available medical techniques, it is possible to correct the medical condition. Although it takes time to correct the condition, it gives you 100% results. The treatment may take time to recover, generally from 6 months to 12 months or even 2 years, as the recovery is comparably slow. With the availability of new medical inventions, it is now easy to fasten the process. When laser therapy is applied, melanocytes sometimes prove to be effective. Thus, it depends on the severity of the case and the patient’s overall health. None of the surgical treatments for vitiligo is permanent, meaning that it still requires a lot of other inventions for additional and strong-impacting treatment.

Few Fast Facts About Melanocyte Transplant

• Stable vitiligo, which has not grown to size over one year, can be easily treated.
• Stable vitiligo means no progression, no new lesions, and no progression in the existing lesion for at least two years. Unstable vitiligo is the opposite, where the lesions change over 6 weeks.
• The procedure takes 3-4 hours and is an outpatient procedure.
• The pigmentation of the target or diseased area can start within 3 to 6 weeks. It depends on the size of the patch.
• There are chances that the patient may have the activation of the disease. Even in that case, the treatment will not lose or show any re-emergence.
• You may require more than one sitting for significant areas like lips, fingers, etc.
• The Melanocyte Transplant cost is decided per the area in cm (square).
• The treatment is done under the influence of sedatives or anesthesia. 
• The procedure's success rate is about 80%, meaning that the maximum area is covered with the treatment's help to retain the skin's original colour.

If the patient has an extensive body surface affected by vitiligo, then there is no treatment under the procedure. The procedure may only help if the patient has stable vitiligo.

What is the Step-by-Step Procedure for Melanocyte Transplant? 

• You will be taken to an operating room, where you will be given sedation.
• The biopsy will be done, and the healthcare provider will choose the anterior upper third of the thigh as the donor site.
• A biopsy is performed using an enzyme that helps to separate the layers of the skin, and later another process, the cell suspension is followed. This suspension will help to filter out the melanocytes-keratinocytes (epidermal cells).
• The target area will be abraded with a diamond fraize wheel, and then the cell suspension will be applied. The collagen in the cells of the new skin will help cover the place and promote healing.
• Finally, the dressing will be done on the target site.

What are the Advantages of Melanocyte Transplant In Delhi?

Melanocyte transplant is a procedure where if the healthcare provider passes a 10% of graft size, the patch cells will grow at least 10 times faster than the graft. At Ayushman Skin & Cosmetology Center, we specialize in providing the services of:

• Melanocyte surgery
• The expertise of the plastic surgeons
• Featured in top national & international dermatological journals
• Safety and efficacy of the method and various other skin-related treatments

Benefits of Melanocyte Transplant

• There exists a 1/10 ratio. This means that a small piece of the skin can yield in treating the large patch of melanocytes.
• Daycare treatment is applicable with this method.
• This procedure can be done under local /regional/or general anaesthesia.
• Pigmentation will start within 3-6 weeks, and it will take at least 2-3 months to reach the climax of the treatment.
• You will get excellent results, especially when you are diseased with focal and segmental vitiligo, and good results in generalized vitiligo.

Is There Any Limitation Associated with Melanocyte Transplant In Delhi?

A melanocyte transplant aims to put the melanocytes of the healthy and developed area on the target and diseased areas where pigmentation is present. There are three different methods developed for this pigmentation correction. These are:

• skin transplants,
• basal cell layer suspension, and
• hair follicle melanocytes and autologous cultured melanocytes

In most cases, such techniques are proven beneficial, especially if the patient is the right candidate. However, there are certain limitations, and these can be:

• No treatment for the vast area. This is because it requires a large area to be removed from the healthy area.
• A tiny percentage of diseased patients may develop white patches on areas where the skin is removed. This may further require medications and surgery if necessary.
• A tiny percentage of diseased patients may develop the Koebners phenomenon, where the borders of the area of the white patch can be depigmented. This further requires medical and surgical procedures.
• There are chances of failure even if you are the right candidate for a melanocyte transplant.

What is Melanocyte Transplant Cost In Delhi?

Melanocyte Transplantation in Delhi costs you a minimum of INR 15k. This may include the price of the white patch size and at least 40% of the treatment for vitiligo in one sitting. The cost may also include the medications for additional treatment and any side effects like redness, swelling, etc. Melanocyte transplantation is a cosmetic procedure to be handled by cosmetic & plastic surgeons. The doctor or the experienced healthcare provider will examine the white patch and will prefer you the proper treatment for the exposed and pigmented area. Ayushman Skin & Cosmetology Center helps you with the availability of affordable and cost-effective vitiligo treatment. The doctors at Ayushman hospital utilize modern techniques and give you the preferable results within 4-5 months.

Conclusion

Melanocyte Transplant is the technique to surgically remove a patch size of skin from the thigh or other healthy & developed parts of the skin. Later, the skin doctor or cosmetologist may help put that skin patch on the diseased or pigmented patch. This will help the melanocyte cells to grow in the pigmented area (after a few surgical treatments). Although it may seem simple to you, it involves a few limitations with the choice of skin, pigmented area, type of hypopigmentation, and the choice of overall patient’s health or the patient itself.

We at Ayushman Skin & Cosmetology Center help you choose the suitable treatment method for your diseased and impacted conditions like vitiligo. We help you determine the most suitable method for yourself and let the area heal within a stipulated time. You can reach us through a call at +91-9599816603 or +91-9599816604, or you can also email us at [email protected].