Title: Systemic Sclerosis: Getting a Diagnosis
Headings: How Systemic Sclerosis Is Diagnosed
How Systemic Sclerosis Is Diagnosed
First Steps
Questions to Ask During the Diagnosis Process
After Your Diagnosis
A Word From Verywell

Content: There are different types of systemic sclerosis, and the type you have may guide your doctor's treatment decisions. These types include: Limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (lcSSc): Skin involvement is limited to the hands/lower arms, feet/lower legs, and face. CREST Syndrome is a form of lcSSC. CREST stands for its most prominent features: calcinosis, Reynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysfunction, sclerodactyly, and telangiectasias. People with lcSSc may develop severe vascular complications including damage to the fingers from Raynaud’s phenomenon and pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure between the heart and lungs). Diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc): Skin involvement begins like in lsSSc but eventually involves the entire limb and often the trunk.