Factors affecting the outcome of the suction blisters using two different harvesting techniques in vitiligo patients.

Background: Suction blister grafting (SBG) technique has been used for long to treat various skin conditions. Different suction methods have been used such as syringes, Chinese cups, and suction device. There are some limitations of its use as time consumption, failure of induction or incomplete blister formation and pain.

Aim: The aim of this work was to evaluate the outcome of using two different suction techniques, namely the syringes and the Chinese cups in induction of suction blisters. The effect of the device diameter and preheating of the donor area on the suction blister induction time (SBIT) was studied. The effect of saline injection in the blister formation and its completion was also evaluated.

Methods: The study was a left-right comparative study that included 50 patients with stable nonsegmental vitiligo. They were classified into four groups: Group 1 included 15 patients where different diameters of syringes (1.3, 1.7, and 2 cm) were compared against each other, group 2 included 15 patients where different diameters of cups (2, 3.5, and 5 cm) were compared against each other, group 3 included 20 patients subdivided into two groups; 10 patients each, where the effect of preheating the skin on blister induction was tested with use of cups (3a) and syringes (3b). Lastly, group 4 included randomly chosen 40 incomplete or multilocular blisters where the effect of saline injection on blister completion and coalescence of multilobulation was examined. SBIT was calculated in all patients.

Results: The use of the small diameter syringes or cups gave shorter SBIT; however, the difference, which was significant between all sizes of cups, was significant between the 1.3- and 2-cm-diameter syringes only. Preheating of the donor area shorten SBIT significantly. No complications were reported at the donor site except for transient postinflammatory hyperpigmentation in all patients.

Conclusion: The small diameter syringes or cups and preheating of the donor area shorten the SBIT, while intra-blister saline injection increased the blister size and turns the multilocular blisters to unilocular ones.