Triple Combination of Fractional CO2 Laser With Topical Corticosteroid and Ultraviolet B Narrow Band in Treatment of Stable Vitiligo

BACKGROUND: Vitiligo is an acquired disorder of pigmentation thought to occur due to loss and dysfunction of melanocytes that causes skin depigmentation. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of fractional carbon dioxide (CO2) laser combined with topical corticosteroid and ultraviolet B narrow band (UVB-NB) in treatment of stable vitiligo. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-five patients with stable vitiligo were enrolled. In every patient, the authors selected 2 groups of lesions: that on the right side (group A) were treated with fractional CO2 laser, topical corticosteroid, and UVB-NB, and the lesions on the left side (group B) were treated with topical corticosteroid and UVB-NB. RESULTS: In group A, only 16% of the patients were not repigmented, whereas most of the patients of group B 72% were not repigmented ( p = .000*). Approximately 20% of the patients of group A showed excellent repigmentation, whereas no patient in group B showed excellent repigmentation ( p = .050*). After treatment, the patients in group A were more satisfied than in group B ( p = .000*). CONCLUSION: Triple combination of fractional CO2 laser with topical betamethasone and UVB-NB was more effective in treatment of stable vitiligo than double combination of UVB-NB with topical betamethasone.