PURPOSE OF REVIEW Phantom pain is a frequent consequence of amputation or deafferentation. There are many possible contributing mechanisms, including stump-related pathology, spinal and cortical changes. Phantom limb pain is notoriously difficult to treat. Continued consideration of the factors associated with phantom pain and its treatment is of utmost importance, not only to advance the scien...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this case series was to determine if severe phantom limb pain could be reduced with oral methadone. DESIGN Four cases of phantom limb pain refractory to multiple treatment modalities were treated with oral methadone. SETTING Pain clinic at a major university medical center. PATIENTS Four patients with severe, intractable phantom limb pain. INTERVENTION Oral me...

Despite being different conditions, complex regional pain syndrome type 1, phantom limb pain and stroke share some potentially important similarities. This report examines experimental and clinical findings from each patient population. It identifies common aspects of symptomatic presentation, sensory phenomena and patterns of cortical reorganization. Based on these common findings, we argue th...

BACKGROUND Calcitonin was effective in a study of acute phantom limb pain, but it was not studied in the chronic phase. The overall literature on N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonists is equivocal. We tested the hypothesis that calcitonin, ketamine, and their combination are effective in treating chronic phantom limb pain. Our secondary aim was to improve our understanding of the mechanisms of actio...

Corresponding author: Heon Keun Lee, M.D., Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, 92, Chilam-dong, Jinju 660-751, Korea. Tel: 82-55-750-8137, Fax: 82-55-750-8142, E-mail: [email protected] This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/...

People experience the feeling of the missing body part long after it has been removed after amputation are known as phantom limb sensations. These sensations can be painful, sometimes becoming chronic and lasting for several years (or called phantom pain). Medical treatment for these individuals is limited. Recent neurobiological investigations of brain plasticity after amputation have revealed...

INTRODUCTION Phantom limb sensation and phantom limb pain is a very common issue after amputations. In recent years there has been accumulating data implicating 'mirror visual feedback' or 'mirror therapy' as helpful in the treatment of phantom limb sensation and phantom limb pain. CASE PRESENTATION We present the case of a 24-year-old Caucasian man, a left upper limb amputee, treated with mi...

Within the figure of more than 200,000 surgical amputations performed in the United States each year lies another--70% of patients experience phantom limb pain after the procedure, and 50% still experience phantom pain 5 years after surgery. Patients describe burning, stabbing, twisting, cramping, or throbbing pains in the missing part. Adding to the patient's and the anesthesia professional's ...

The aim of this study was to investigate whether a special prosthetic training in phantom limb pain patients aimed at increasing the functional use of the prosthesis leads to neural morphological plasticity of brain structures and a reduction in phantom limb pain. For chronic pain disorders, it was shown that morphological alterations due to pain might become at least partially reversed by pain...