Phantom Limb Syndrome

Phantom Limb Syndrome

• 1.
  Ade Wijaya, MD– April 2020
• 2.
  Phantom Limb Syndrome(PLS): Feeling that the amputated limb is still present Phantom Limb Pain (PLP): Throbbing, stabbing, electric shock sensations, and even cramped and painfully immobile limb sensations Weinstein SM. Phantom limb pain and related disorders. Neurol Clin. 1998;16(4):919–936. Carlen PL, Wall PD, Nadvorna H, Steinbach T. Phantom limbs and related phenomena in recent traumatic amputations. Neurology. 1978;28(3):211–217. Giummarra MJ, Gibson SJ, Georgiou-Karistianis N, Bradshaw JL. Central mechanisms in phantom limb perception: the past, present and future. Brain Res Rev. 2007;54(1):219–232.
• 3.
   78% ofamputee; reported experiencing PLP  Impair quality of life  A better understanding of its pathophysiology and etiology could lead to new modalities to alleviate the suffering it causes Sherman RA, Sherman CJ, Parker L. Chronic phantom and stump pain among American veterans: results of a survey. Pain. 1984;18(1):83–95.
• 4.
   A Frenchsurgeon, Ambroise Paré, was likely the first to document an instance of PLP, in the 16th century  The term did not arise until the American Civil War, when it was described by military battlefield surgeon (and later, neurologist) Silas Weir Mitchell Finger S, Hustwit MP. Five early accounts of phantom limb in context: Paré, Descartes, Lemos, Bell, and Mitchell. Neurosurgery. 2003;52(3):675–686; discussion 685. Nathanson M. Phantom limbs as reported by S. Weir Mitchell. Neurology. 1988;38(3):504–505.
• 5.
  Central Nervous System (CNS) PeripheralNervous System (PNS)
• 6.
   Neuromatrix representation Cortical Remapping Theory (CRT)  Subcortical Theory  Proprioceptive memory  Dissociation of vision and proprioception
• 7.
   The conceptof a representation of the self within the brain that is modified by life experiences, termed the neuromatrix  After limb amputation, an individual’s cortical and peripheral body representations remain intact, but no longer correspond, and this mismatch is enhanced by a lack of visual feedback from the missing limb, thus generating excessive pain, in spite of the lack of a sensory stimulus Flor H. Phantom-limb pain: characteristics, causes, and treatment. Lancet Neurol. 2002;1(3):182–189. Melzack R. Pain and the neuromatrix in the brain. J Dent Educ. 2001;65(12):1378–1382.
• 8.
   According tothe CRT, neurons that received input from an arm before its amputation subsequently respond to new inputs from the face that invade the nearby arm-associated somatosensory region  Consequently, with facial stimulation, an amputee may experience PLS, including pain Wartan SW, Hamann W, Wedley JR, McColl I. Phantom pain and sensation among British veteran amputees. Br J Anaesth. 1997;78(6):652–659 Sapunar D, Kostic S, Banozic A, Puljak L. Dorsal root ganglion — a potential new therapeutic target for neuropathic pain. J Pain Res. 2012;5:31–38.
• 9.
   Researchers usingmicrostimulation and microelectrode recordings found that: - The representation of the residual limb in the thalamus was enlarged compared with that of corresponding areas of individuals with intact limbs - Thalamic stimulation could evoke PLS and even PLP in amputees Davis KD, Kiss ZH, Luo L, Tasker RR, Lozano AM, Dostrovsky JO. Phantom sensations generated by thalamic microstimulation. Nature. 1998;391(6665):385–387.
• 10.
   Amputees continueto have proprioception of missing limbs Ramachandran VS, Hirstein W. The perception of phantom limbs. The D. O. Hebb lecture. Brain. 1998;121(pt 9):1603–1630. Anderson-Barnes VC, McAuliffe C, Swanberg KM, Tsao JW. Phantom limb pain — a phenomenon of proprioceptive memory? Med Hypotheses. 2009;73(4):555–558. Gentili ME, Verton C, Kinirons B, Bonnet F. Clinical perception of phantom limb sensation in patients with brachial plexus block. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2002;19(2):105–108. Katz J, Melzack R. Pain ‘memories’ in phantom limbs: review and clinical observations. Pain. 1990;43(3):319–336.
• 11.
   Limb Movement:visual + proprioceptive  The inability to visualize the amputated limb is insufficient to override the proprioceptive information from the residual limb  PLS  Conflicting signals from the two systems resurrects a phantom limb  Visualization therapies have been relatively successful at reducing PLP Tung ML, et al. Observation of limb movements reduces phantom limb pain in bilateral amputees. Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2014;1(9):633–638.
• 12.
   Nerve injury Neurons in the DRG increase their nociceptive signaling through increases in neuronal excitability and the creation of ectopic discharges  aberrant signaling through the spinothalamic tract may produce PLP. Sapunar D, Kostic S, Banozic A, Puljak L. Dorsal root ganglion — a potential new therapeutic target for neuropathic pain. J Pain Res. 2012;5:31–38.
• 13.
  Purves D, etal. Neuroscience. 2nd ed. Sunderland, Massachusetts, USA: Sinauer Associates; 2001.
• 14.
   Studies haveshown that persons who experienced pain prior to amputation have higher rates of PLP  However, no evidence that preamputation pain plays a role in persistent PLP, only PLP experienced immediately after surgery  The location and characterization of the pain was only similar to that experienced before amputation in 10% of patients Jensen TS, Krebs B, Nielsen J, Rasmussen P. Immediate and long-term phantom limb pain in amputees: incidence, clinical characteristics and relationship to pre-amputation limb pain. Pain. 1985;21(3):267–278. Bach S, Noreng MF, Tjéllden NU. Phantom limb pain in amputees during the first 12 months following limb amputation, after preoperative lumbar epidural blockade. Pain. 1988;33(3):297–301. Nikolajsen L, Ilkjaer S, Krøner K, Christensen JH, Jensen TS. The influence of preamputation pain on postamputation stump and phantom pain. Pain. 1997;72(3):393–405.
• 15.
   Gabapentin andpregabalin  Opioids and opiates  Memantine (acute and subacute PLP)  Lidocaine  Visualization therapies (mirror therapy (MT) or virtual reality (VR) and prosthesis usage) may play a role in diminishing PLP by enabling the amputee to visualize a limb moving in a natural manner
• 16.
   Following amputation,most amputees still report feeling the missing limb and often describe these feelings as excruciatingly painful  Impair quality of life  The condition still perplexes researchers today, with no universally efficacious treatment available  A better understanding of its pathophysiology and etiology could lead to new modalities to alleviate the suffering it causes