Abstract
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), recently recategorized as complex regional pain syndrome type 1, is a poorly understood syndrome that consists of multiple symptoms, including chronic severe pain or allodynia/hyperalgesia, vasomotor instability, swelling, and bone dystrophy. We present two cases of RSD. The first case is a 54-year-old woman with chronic severe pain, swelling, and bone atrophy that appeared one month after the operation for granuloma telangiectaticum on the tip of the second finger of the left hand. The second case is a 32-year-old woman who presented at our department with redness, swelling, and severe pain of the right toe. The use of physiotherapy and beraprost sodium (PGI2) for Case 1 and sympathetic blocks for Case 2 resulted in progressive improvement of the disease, which healed with tolerable pain within a year. Although we dermatologists rarely encounter patients with RSD, it is highly important to recognize this disease entity for early diagnosis and early treatment.
