A patient who has recently undergone a below knee amputation (BKA), is complaining about a severe pain in the ankle of the amputated leg! However unrealistic it may sound, a physician knows this condition as Phantom Limb pain. As the symptoms are mostly psychosomatic and associated with the severe trauma of amputation, a clinician must manage such disorder with utmost care. Phantom limb symptoms refer to mild to extreme pain or sensation felt in the area where a limb has been recently amputated.
Phantom limb sensations usually disappear or decrease over time, however, for a prolonged pain for more than six months, it needs clinical attention. The primary step is to distinguish it from residual limb pain originating from the part of the limb that is left behind, often referred as a stump. This is due to the development of a neuroma at the site of amputation due to a cut nerve ending…
