ABSTRACT

Low frequency ultrasonographic examination is thought to be a successful adjuvant technique for determination of skin layers and tissue perfusion patterns in localized scleroderma. We aimed to identify the role of this technique in the clinical follow-up via investigation of basic parameters such as skin thickness, elasticity, echogenicity and vascularity in patients diagnosed with morphea by histopathology.

Thirty-five plaque lesions of nineteen patients with morphea and symmetric, uninvolved cutaneous areas were compared by ultrasound in terms of mean skin thickness, elasticity index and elasticity ratio. The associations between the skin thickness and thickness score, elasticity score and elasticity index, echogenicity score and vascularity score were investigated in all tissue levels.

Of the morphea lesions, while the mean dermal skin thickness and dermal elasticity ratio were decreased compared to normal skin, the dermal vascularity was solely increased with an increase of the tissue thickness. Only the mean skin thickness was found to be significantly lower compared to the normal skin areas in the hypodermis of the morphea plaque lesions.

Low frequency ultrasound can be used as an effective, adjuvant technique in the clinical follow-up of morphea plaque lesions in the levels of dermis and hypodermis.