The Systemic Sclerosis Hand Team

at

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Our Mission

The mission of the VUMC Scleroderma Hand Team is to deliver personalized treatment plans and advance patient-centered research to improve the clinical outcomes for systemic sclerosis patients with significant hand impairment.

Our Goal

Our goal is to bring outstanding clinical care through our multidisciplinary team of experts, including plastic surgeons, vascular medicine specialists, rheumatologists, dermatologists, interventional radiologists, wound care experts, and occupational hand therapists.

Research

Systemic Sclerosis Research Program

Dedicated to the interdisciplinary assessment of systemic sclerosis (SSc), an autoimmune disease characterized by vasculopathy with resultant fibrosis.

Rheumatology Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Program

Aiming to understand of the role of musculoskeletal ultrasound for diagnosis and follow up of patients with rheumatic conditions.

Capillaroscopy Program

A non-invasive diagnostic technique that involves the microscopic examination of the capillaries and is a valuable technique for microvascular evaluation.

Our Research

Patient Care

Patients with systemic sclerosis can experience significant pain and functional limitations in their hands due to involvement of skin, joints, peri-articular structures, and vascular structures.

These patients benefit from highly specialized teams working together to address the many hand complications including Raynaud’s disease, calcinosis, digit ischemia, arthritis, and contractures.

The providers with cross-disciplinary expertise work collaboratively to provide the best care for our patients with systemic sclerosis from a multidisciplinary perspective.