Tattooing for the Management of White Patches

Abstract

Although biologically more or less inert, a white patch is a social taboo in India. When a white patch is localized and remains static in spite of conservative treatment, it can be dealt with by tattooing as a camouflage procedure. Inert pigments of skin color match are impregnated into the intradermal plane. The procedure is simpler than melanocyte transfer and serves the purpose of hiding a white patch. In the present study, histology of the tattooed skin was studied to confirm the retention of the pigments into the intradermal plane. The patient remains pain-free in the postoperative period. The procedure does not keep the patient away from work, nor does it require hospitalization or general anaesthesia. It can be dealt with as an office procedure, making it relatively inexpensive.