Extracted hair follicle outer root sheath cell suspension for pigment cell restoration in vitiligo

J Cutan Aesthet Surg. 2013 Apr;6(2):121-5. doi: 10.4103/0974-2077.112679.

Abstract

Vitiligo surgery has come up a long way from punch skin grafts to epidermal cell suspension and latest to the extracted hair follicle outer root sheath cell suspension (EHF-ORS-CS) transplantation. The progressive development from one technique to the other is always in a quest for the best. In the latest development- EHF-ORS-CS, which is an enriched source of follicular inactive melanocyte (melanocyte stem cells), seems to be a good addition to the prevailing cell-based therapies for vitiligo; however, need to be explored further in larger, and preferably randomized blinded studies. This review discusses the principle, technical details, and stem cell composition of hair follicular outer root sheath cell suspension.

Keywords: Cell transplantation; EHF-ORS-CS; FUE (follicular unit extraction); vitiligo.