Acute Pain
Volume 11, Issue 3 , Pages 139-141, December 2009

Phantom limb like pain and sensations in an intact lower extremity

  • Suparna Saha

      Affiliations

    • Department of Anesthesiology, 1709 Dryden Rd. STE 1700, MS:BCM120, Houston, TX 77030, United States
    • Tel.: +1 713 798 7356; fax: +1 713 798 6374.
    • ,
  • Eldor L. Brish

      Affiliations

    • Department of Anesthesiology, 1709 Dryden Rd. STE 1700, MS:BCM120, Houston, TX 77030, United States
    • Tel.: +1 713 798 7356; fax: +1 713 798 6374.
    • ,
  • Krishna Boddu

      Affiliations

    • Department of Anesthesiology, Baylor College of Medicine, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston & Memorial Hermann Hospital, 6431 Fannin, MSB 5.020, Houston, TX 77030, United States
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +1 713 855 9971; fax: +1 713 500 0595.

Received 26 April 2009; received in revised form 6 July 2009; accepted 10 July 2009.

Summary 

Phantom limb pain is defined as pain localised in a body part that is no longer there (Mishra et al. [1]; Flor et al. [2]; Mayo Clinic Staff [3]). It is believed that amputation of an extremity is required for phantom pain and sensations to occur (Nikolajsen and Jensen [5]). However, we report a case in which a severed nerve to an “intact extremity” resulted in phantom limb-like pains and sensations which responded to a treatment regimen identical to that for phantom limb pain. It is important for clinicians to entertain the idea of phantom limb-like pain in cases when a nerve is severed to any extremity and as such, provide pain relief to this subgroup of patients.

Keywords: Acute, Pain, Phantom, Limb, Sensations, Distress

To access this article, please choose from the options below

Login to an existing account or Register a new account.

  • Purchase this article for 31.50 USD (You must login/register to purchase this article)

    Online access for 24 hours. The PDF version can be downloaded as your permanent record.

  • Visit SciVerse ScienceDirect to see if you have access via your institution.
 

PII: S1366-0071(09)00041-2

doi:10.1016/j.acpain.2009.07.004

Acute Pain
Volume 11, Issue 3 , Pages 139-141, December 2009

Article Tools