Front and center scar = dysplastic tissue excision 1.5 weeks after procedure, 3 days after stitches removal

Top right corner scar = scleroderma scar tissue

The similarities between both of these:

Both scars are results of excessive collagen building.  Collagen being a protein complex in the skin; however, the cause of growth of collagen in both these scars is different.

The excision scar is producing collagen to make up for the removed tissue – my dermatologist said that my body would produce collagen at this site for about 6 months after the procedure.  When he did the procedure, he had to stretch the skin some to allow for the closing of the wound.

The scleroderma scar is result of an autoimmune response that triggered my body to explosively start producing collagen, or the formation of scar tissue (fibrosis).  It involves a hardening of the tissue, thus the name scleroderma:  “sclero” (hard) + “derma” (skin) = scleroderma (hard skin).  I have linear scleroderma with a morphea patch, so only my skin and direct underlying tissues are affected, and not my organs like with systemic sclerosis.

For more information about this disease, click here for the Scleroderma Foundation.

By the way, Paul Klee, the modernist painter, had scleroderma.  Read an article about his practice and his disease here.

Paul Klee, Angelus Novus, 1920