Vitiligo or leukoderma or white spots disease is not a medical disorder but a cosmetic problem but it has a great impact on the affected person’s psychological and social well-being. In vitiligo, there are areas where the normal pigmentation of skin is missing or deficient due to destruction of melanocytes, the colour producing cells of our skin. The treatment options include medications, excimer laser therapy, phototherapy and surgical correction.
Mini punch grafting surgery, slit skin grafting surgery, melanocyte culture transplantation are the surgical options for vitiligo patches which have been stable and have not shown response to other modalities. It is done under local anaesthesia and it’s a walk in and walk out procedure. Grafts are taken from normal skin from back side of the thigh. The implanted skin tissue starts producing pigment/colour in the vitiligo patch over next few weeks.
Healthy nails are smooth, without pits or grooves, uniform in texture and colour. Some changes in the texture and colour of nails can be normal, as a part of ageing process or family history or ethnicity. Some of the common nail disorders are nail trauma, ingrown toe nail, fungal infections (onychomycosis), paronychia, koilonychia, psoriatic nails, nail lichen planus, onycholysis, yellow nail syndrome. The treatment options for various nail disorders include medications, intra-matrix injections, laser therapy and nail surgery.
When nail is destroyed beyond repair in any nail disease/ by trauma, nail avulsion surgery is the right modality of treatment. It leads to growth of new nail which is healthy and disease free. Nail avulsion surgery can be partial or complete depending on the extent of the disease or trauma. It’s done under local anaesthesia. It takes 1-3 months for complete growth of a new healthy nail.
The cuts or lacerations occurred during traumas/ accidents are often sutured in emergency rooms. Some of them may heal well, some leave prominent scars. For improving the appearance of such scars and making them unnoticeable scar revision surgery is performed. It includes removing of the scar tissue and re-suturing it with fine micro-sutures under local anaesthesia. It gives excellent results in facial scars, linear scars, depressed scars on other body areas.
Though considered as beauty spots, not all moles look attractive. Some may be too big, hairy or there may be multiple moles on your face which give you freckled appearance. Similarly, skin tags, though harmless can cause your neck, face to appear unsightly. Skin tags in underarms, under breasts, groin area can cause irritation, itching and get infected. Moles/ skin tags can be easily removed by laser technology. It’s done under topical numbing cream or local anaesthesia and is a painless process. Birth marks, if desired by the patient, can also be removed by laser surgery or excision surgery. It can be done in one sitting or may require few sessions of laser surgery or serial excision surgery over a few months for best possible results.
Dr Priyanka has performed hundreds of Dermatosurgery procedures over the years, such as Vitiligo surgery, Nail surgery, Scar revision surgery and many other dermatological microsurgeries. She has special expertise in laser treatments for Acne scars, Accidental scars, Keloids, Hair removal, Pigmentation and Birthmarks as well as the anti-ageing procedures like Botox injections, dermal fillers, thread lifts, HIFU, MNRF.