| What are the conventional treatments for vitiligo? |
Conventional treatments for vitiligo include drugs, surgery, PUVA and Narrow Band UVB. These are effective to varying degrees.
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| Why is the XTRAC laser treatment effective? |
Repigmentation therapy is a widely used treatment for vitiligo. Current treatments, which include PUVA and Narrow Band UVB, have proved to be expensive and highly time consuming. PUVA is very costly and needs around 120 treatments.
Clinical studies have shown that UVB light is the preferential wavelength for stimulating melanocytes and initiating a repigmentation response in vitiligo patches. The XTRAC excimer laser delivers a focused beam of UVB light (308 nm-peak of the UVB action spectrum), through a unique fiber optic system, and targets the vitiligo patch alleviating harm to the healthy tissue, thus producing amazing results. Patients experience marked repigmentation in as few as 6-12 treatments. Due to its “site-specific” fiber optic delivery system, the XTRAC system can be used successfully on hard-to-treat areas of the body without risk to healthy skin. |
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| Who can undergo the treatment? |
Patients with facial, neck, arm and trunk patches are ideal candidates for this treatment. |
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| Is the treatment painful? |
No. The treatment is not at all painful. No anesthesia is necessary. While most people do not experience any sensation, some patients may feel slightly warmth. Slight sunburn sensations may be felt 4-10 hours after treatment. |
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| How many treatments are necessary? |
Patients should be treated three times a week, with minimum of 2 days between treatments. Less than three treatments per week may extend the number of treatments necessary to repigment the patient. Treatment may continue until the patient experiences complete repigmentation. |
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| What are the precautions that I should take before and after the treatment? |
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| What are the possible complications of the XTRAC treatment? |
Some patients may not respond to this treatment. Thus it may not be effective in some cases.
Patients with photosensitivity disorder, history of keloid formation, melanoma and invasive squamous cell carcinoma should not be treated with XTRAC. |
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| Is the treatment permanent? |
No vitiligo treatment is permanent. The advantage of XTRAC excimer laser treatment is that the remission period is much longer as compared to other treatments. De-pigmentation of the treated area may not occur for a long period of time. |
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