Extract
Phantom-limb sensations refer to the phenomenon of feeling the presence of
an amputated limb. Phantomlimb pain refers to the sensation of pain in this
limb. This is a form of deafferentation pain, which refers to pain originating
from neural injury. In a survey study by Sherman et al. of 2694 patients who
had had an amputation, phantom sensations were reported by 2101 patients (78%)
postoperatively1;
1282 (61%) of those patients reported a decrease of this phenomenon over an
average period of twenty-six years. In a retrospective study of 176 patients
who had undergone amputation of a lower limb, Houghton et al. reported that
phantom sensations were experienced by 141 patients (80%) and phantom pain, by
134 (76%)2. However,
only thirty-eight patients (22%) reported severe phantom pain.