Brief Answer: its also seen in portal hypertension Detailed Answer: Hi XXXXXXX Thanks for writing to HCM. Watermelon stomach also called as Gastric Antral Vascular Ectasia (GAVE) is not only seen with scleroderma but also seen in portal hypertension and liver cirrhosis and chronic renal failure. If your endoscopy has diagnosed it to be GAVE, then it is so, as that is the final diagnostic tool. Now we need to get to the cause of it. Scleroderma is usually associated with thickening of skin of fingers, fingers undergoing white-blue-red color transitions in cold, nodules in skin, dilated veins over face, hands and inside mouth, difficulty in swallowing, joint and muscle pain. If you are having any or more of these then you may be having scleroderma. Then to confirm it you need to undergo a few blood tests to detect a certain antibodies in you. These include antinuclear antibodies, anti-cenrtomere antibodies, anti-RNA polymerase III antibodies and anti-fibrillarian (anti-U3RNP) antibodies. If you are not having the above mentioned features then chances of scleroderma are very rare. But still those antibodies test is the diagnostic. Other possibility is of portal hypertension and liver cirrhosis. But for this liver function test and an abdominal ultrasound will be needed for the diagnosis. I would suggest that you get these test done, if not already done, to help come to a diagnosis, as management of these two conditions is entirely different. Hope i have been helpful. Regards Dr. Ashish Verma

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