Scleroderma (which comes from the Greek meaning ‘hard skin’) is a rare connective tissue disease that affects the skin and other major internal organs. Excess collagen is laid down in these organs which in turn results in scarring and reduced normal function of the affected organs.
There are two main groups of scleroderma –
Systemic, which affects the internal organs as well as the skin and
Localised, which affects specific areas of skin and underlying tissues but does not affect the internal organs.