Parry-Romberg syndrome, also called “progressive facial hemiatrophy” is a condition that causes a progressive, self-limited withering of the skin as well as subcutaneous tissue on one side of the face. This condition was first reported by a person named Parry, which was later called a syndrome by a person named Romberg.
In this disease, a progressive wastage of subcutaneous fat occurs which is then accompanied by an atrophy of the skin, bone, cartilage as well as muscle. This condition tends to overlap with a condition which is called linear scleroderma. In most cases, the atrophy confines itself to one side of the face as well as cranium though it may spread to other parts of the face such as the neck and one side of the body.
How common is it?
Parry-Romberg syndrome is a relatively rare disease the onset of which is insidious and the condition tends to manifest in the first or second decade of one’s life with the changes in the skin resembling scleroderma. The disease progresses rapidly in two to ten years after the onset and then stabilizes.
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