Evaluation of clinical efficacy and laboratory indicators of non‐cultured epidermal cell suspension and hair follicle cell suspension in surgical management of stable vitiligo: A randomized comparative trial

Background Non‐cultured epidermal cell suspension (ECS) and hair follicle cell suspension (HFCS) are well‐established methods of surgical treatment of stable vitiligo. Aims The aim of the present study was to compare the laboratory indicators and clinical efficacy of ECS and HFCS in the treatment of stable vitiligo. Methods This was a single centre, open‐labeled randomized trial. Vitiligo patches from 74 patients were randomized to receive either ECS or HFCS. Both cell suspensions were analyzed for total cell count, cell viability and melanocyte count. Percentage re‐pigmentation was assessed at regular intervals for 36 weeks. Results The percentage re‐pigmentation with ECS was significantly higher than HFCS at week 4 (p = .01) and week 16 (p = .03) however, no difference was observed at weeks 24 (p = .38) and 36 (p = .05). Forty‐seven patients completed the study follow‐up duration and excellent re‐pigmentation (>90%) was achieved in 61.7% and 53.2% and complete re‐pigmentation (100%) was observed in 6.4% and 12.8% of participants using ECS and HFCS, respectively. Significantly higher cell yield (p