Background:
Melasma is a common dyschromia that often motivates the search for dermatological care as it results in cosmetic disfigurement that impairs the patient’s quality of life.
Aim:
To evaluate the effect of microneedling with addition of topical vitamin c in treatment of melasma.
Materials and Methods:
This is a prospective study that included 34 adult females with 4 dropouts. All had epidermal melasma. The thirty cases who completed the study received 6 sessions of microneedling with topical vitamin C 20% at 2 week interval. All came for follow up after 3 months of the last session. Patients were evaluated by digital photographs taken at each visit and Melasma Area Severity Index (MASI scoring).
Results:
The percentage improvement of the studied cases showed gradual increase from the first session (mean= 0) to the last session (mean= 36.87±19.85) and this was highly significant (P value <0.0001). After 3 months of the last session, 5 cases (16.67%) showed recurrence and 25 cases (83.33%) showed no recurrence.There were no major adverse events observed.
Conclusions:
On the basis of these results, microneedling with topical vitamin C is a promising treatment option for epidermal melasma especially in fair skinned patients.