Sclerodactyly

Sclerodactyly is a localized thickening and tightness of the skin of the fingers or toes that yields a characteristic claw-like appearance of the affected digits, and renders them immobile or of limited mobility. The thickened patches of skin are called morphea, and may involve connective tissue below the skin, as well as muscle and other tissues. Sclerodactyly may be accompanied by ulceration of the skin of the distal digits. Sclerodactyly is often preceded by months or even years, by Raynaud's Phenomenon when it is part of systemic scleroderma.

Sclerodactyly
Specialty	Dermatology

The term "sclerodactyly" is made up from the Greek "skleros" meaning hard and "daktylos" meaning a finger or toe – "hard fingers or toes".

It is generally associated with systemic scleroderma and mixed connective tissue disease, auto-immune disorders.

Sclerodactyly is a component of the CREST variant of scleroderma (CREST is an acronym that stands for calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, and telangiectasia.)

Treatment of sclerodactyly is by physical therapy, phototherapy, surgery, topical corticosteroids or vitamin D analogues, and systemic immunosuppressive drugs when the condition is part of systemic scleroderma. Localized treatment won't halt systemic disease, but can restore function and cosmetic aspects of the affected digits. In a few cases when immune involvement isn't apparent (in these cases environmental causes are suspected), the condition may gradually clear up by itself If the trigger is avoided. In other cases, early treatment while the disease is in the inflammatory stage is much more likely to be successful than on established lesions.