Dermatology For Africa Congress 2018 Programme_Book_-_Final_V2_k24o6r | Page 6

Welcome Message
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Welcome from the President of the Vitiligo Society of South Africa
The Vitiligo Society of South Africa (VSSA) extends a warm welcome to all
delegates of this very significant 2018 combined congress.
Vitiligo is a particular problem in the African continent, with prominent contrast
between normal and involved skin, yet treatment options in Africa remain
severely limited. We are optimistic that the treatments discussed during the
congress will benefit the entire continent and beyond.
Since its inception, the VSSA has introduced new treatments for vitiligo each
year. This year is no exception, with hair follicle grafting rising to the occasion.
We have an exciting line up of 3 well-known international vitiligo surgeons,
Dr. Davinder Parsad from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Research in
Chandigarh, Dr. Somesh Gupta from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences
in Delhi and Dr. Nilesh Goyal, hair transplant surgeon from Mumbai. Together
they will perform live demonstrations of all the popular surgical techniques
currently available for vitiligo. These include non-cultured melanocyte grafting,
preparation of a cell suspension inside suction blisters and transplantation of
intact hair follicles into vitiligo areas. These useful techniques can be applied
equally to other situations requiring repigmentation eg surgical scars.
There will be a panel discussion around live patients on difficult-to-treat areas
and recent advances in vitiligo will be addressed.
We hope to see you at the pre-congress vitiligo symposium and during the
talks that follow, and of course, please take a moment to imbibe the sights and
sounds of Durban.
Noufal Raboobee
President: Vitiligo Society of South Africa