Extracorporeal therapy is a treatment modality that utilized the patient′s blood itself to undergo favorable technical modifications and is then reintroduced into them. This method has been deployed for the last four decades to manage difficult and refractory disorders in dermatology. 

Recent times witness newer techniques like immunoadsorption which has opened new prospects in the management of morbid dermatoses. 

Extracorporeal photopheresis utilized the patient′s leukocytes to separate and treat them outside with Ultra Violet A in presence of 8-methoxy psoralen. 

Double filtration plasmapheresis and Immunoadsorption remains crucial techniques to separate offending immune complexes from the patient′s blood. Besides being safe, they also reduce the requirement for toxic medications that are conventionally used in recalcitrant skin diseases. 

Current times are witnessing immunoadsorption as first-line therapy to treat stubborn skin conditions like immunobullous diseases, but high cost remains a limiting factor for their widespread use in developing countries like India. 

Source- Sen S, Rudra O, Gayen T. Extracorporeal Therapy in Dermatology. Indian J Dermatol 2021;66:386-92