Needling: an adjunct to narrowband ultraviolet B therapy in localized fixed vitiligo

Background Treatment of vitiligo still remains a challenge. New modalities are added every now and then for non-responding patches. Needling is relatively recent addition. Objectives To assess the usefulness of needling as an adjunct to narrowband ultraviolet B therapy in non-responding, localized fixed vitiligo Patients and methods 23 adult cases (16 female and 7 male) having 84 localized vitiligo patches, who did not respond to medical measures either alone or in combination with ultraviolet exposures were available for evaluation at the end of study. After preliminary investigations, patients were subjected to needling of the involved sites. Many of them were trained to perform needling themselves. Patients were then treated with thrice weekly narrowband ultraviolet B (NBUVB) therapy. Results Almost 90 % patches showed good to excellent response after six months of needling with NBUVB exposures without much of side effects. Conclusion Needling is a safe, effective and promising adjunct treatment to NBUVB for repigmentation of non-responding localized vitiligo.