Stefano Pescia, Sabrina Marongiu, Enrico Fiori, Chiara Asti, Corrado Ciatti, Leonardo Puddu, Francesco Pisanu, Carlo Doria, Gianfilippo Caggiari
Phantom limb sensation was described for the first time by the French military surgeon Ambroise Pare in the 16th century, where soldiers reported a long-lasting suggestive and physical pain after an amputation. As of today, scientists and physicians still do not have a complete vision and understanding of the phantom limb characteristics. The purpose of this review article is to summarize recent research studies focusing on phantom limb in order to discuss its definition, mechanisms, and treatments thanks to our database and studies with more than 28 patients. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from March 2015 to July 2020 We created a questionnaire which included different questions to divide and understand the various conditions that afflict amputated patients and pain correlated with phantom limb. Overall, 28 patients (mean age 59 ± 6 years), 16 (57,14%) were male and 12 (42,86%) were female. Lower limb amputation (100%) level of amputation was in all cases trans tibial amputation. The main causes were traumatic injuries (57%). The purpose of this article is to focus on phantom limb feeling and pain in order to discuss its definition, mechanisms, and treatments.
