Taichung Kuang Tien General Hospital said it has recently completed micro transplant surgery for a 15-year-old patient who was diagnosed with vitiligo, or loss of skin pigment.
Surgeon Wu Wen-hung (吳文宏) said the student, surnamed Chang (張), developed symptoms of his left eyebrows turning white and the skin across his entire left eye socket also turning pale.
After his condition drew ridicule at school, Chang visited the hospital last summer and was diagnosed with vitiligo, then agreed to surgery to transplant melanin pigments into the affected areas, Wu said.
Photo: Chang Hsuan-che, Taipei Times
Wu said that vitiligo is a condition in which natural melanin in the skin is destroyed and the skin is unable to generate normal pigmentation, leading to the appearance of irregular areas of pale skin.
The area where vitiligo occurs varies, but is mostly concentrated on the limbs, eyes, nose, armpits and back, but it is also possible to develop vitiligo on the lips or genitals, Wu said.
About half of vitiligo patients experience an outbreak before they are 20 years old, and the condition affects about 2 percent of the population, Wu said, adding that vitiligo is often accompanied by the complication of white piedra, a fungal infection of the hair.
While clinical studies have not determined the cause of vitiligo, it most often occurs when there is a disorder in the human immune system or the thyroid glands, Wu said, adding that a potential cause of vitiligo is stress and a lack of melanin.
At least one-third of patients who have been diagnosed with vitiligo have a family history of the condition, Wu said.
Wu said Chang’s habits of studying long into the night, coupled with his pressure to score high on tests to gain admission into a good school might have caused a disorder in his immune system.
Wu called on patients to visit their local medical facilities immediately if they experience similar symptoms, adding that if not treated, vitiligo continues to spread.
Wu said the pigmentation of the skin around Chang’s left eye socket returned to normal three months after the surgery, adding that 10 months after the surgery, Chang’s eyebrows had also grown back and returned to their natural color.
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