Question
40yr old female: my rheumatologist told me I have connective tissue disease-don't know which one yet.  I am being monitored for scleroderma.  I have been told by various surgeons (general/orthopedic/gastro) that I rapidly create scartissue.  I had arm bone surgery 5 yrs ago & just recently developed increasing bone pain, followed by rapidly developing hard bone lump, then another lump in 3wks time (all of this occurred in total 3 months time w/NO injury to arm or previous signs of pain or lumps).  I just had lumps remvd & was told they appeared to be scar tissue (waiting pathology confirmation).  I don't understand why on earth I would randomly devel. scar tissue 5 yrs after surgery for No known reason.  I was wondering if you know of any direct link between scler. & scar tissue devel. OR any other auto-immune type cause related to scar tissue that might help any of this scenario make sense?  Thanks for any help.

Answer
The only information I've heard about post-surgical scarring related to scleroderma is anecdotal and rare.  Scleroderma does cause scarring or hardening for no known cause.  I'm sure you and your doctor will learn more from the pathology.

It's frustrating to be diagnosed with an "undifferentiated connective tissue disease," and a lot of people with scleroderma or lupus are for a short or even long time before all the pieces of their personal puzzle come together to create a clear picture.  In the meantime, keep track of your symptoms and when they occur ("tired in the morning which improves by noon," or "pain in legs that gets worse the longer I stand in the cold," for instance) to help your doc get a more complete picture.  Keep working together for a diagnosis so that you can have proper treatment of symptoms and complications.