Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital have suggested that skin transplant surgery could be an effective way of treating the skin disease vitiligo.

A team in Detroit reported to transfer healthy skin cells to 32 patients who had areas of the body that had lost color because of the condition as a part of the study.

The study reported that 18 male, 14 female totaling to 32 patients ranging in age from 18 to 60 underwent surgery.

The study discovered that the area that was undergone treatment regained on average 52% of its natural skin color.

"This surgery offers hope to vitiligo patients," says Iltefat Hamzavi, M. D. a senior staff physician in Henry Ford's Department of Dermatology and the study's senior author and principal investigator.

Moreover, in some patients suffering from a specific type of vitiligo, the treated area regained on average 74% of its natural skin color, it added.

However, these results are just initial results, Dr Hamzavi said for some patients the surgery posed effective results compared to standard treatments like light therapy or medication.