Physical injury as a provoking factor in three patients with scleroderma.

A 51-year-old female developed linear-like scleroderma in the left thigh following a linear wound caused by a car accident. 27 years later she also developed a typical diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis with extensive skin involvement and bibasilar pulmonary fibrosis. The second case is a 39-year-old female who had a history of Raynaud's phenomenon since early childhood. She developed a morphea following a burning injury of the left thigh. 17 years later she also developed a typical limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis with sclerodactyly, skin ulcers and subcutaneous calcinosis. The third case is a 43-year-old female who developed a typical morphea of the right elbow around the site of a previous local corticosteroid injection. The two remarkable points of these 3 cases are the possible role of physical injury in the provocation of localized scleroderma and in the first 2 cases the unusual later development of a systemic form of scleroderma.