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Medical Author:

Shabir Bhimji, MD

Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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Uncommonly, Raynaud's phenomenon is recurrent and the episodes are prolonged enough to cause ulceration and tissue loss on the finger and toe tips. In people who continue to smoke or have Buerger's disease, frank gangrene of the toes and fingers is a real possibility. In some cases, there may be persistent pain and paleness of the digits. Infections are rare but can occur in people who also have diabetes. When complications occur, there is often more workup required to rule out presence of vasculitis (disease of blood vessels), blood clots, or atherosclerosis.

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