Phantom limb syndrome
Phantom limb syndrome is an interesting phenomena where the pain is perceived form the part of the body that is no longer there. These sensations vary from person to person and includes two main types of sensations: Painful sensations like throbbing, burning, stabbing, squeezing or shooting type of sensations. Non-painful sensations: changes in posture, telescoping (felling of limb shortening over time), movement sensations and sensations like touch, temperature, pressure and vibration. These sensations were first put into limelight by a French military surgeon Ambroise Pare in 1552 who managed the war wounded soldiers, when the patients complained of sensations in the amputated part. But the term was first coined by an American Physician named Silas Weir Mitchell who wrote “ The autobiography of a quack: The case of George Dedlow”. This autobiography told the story of a civil war soldier, George Dedlow who experienced phantom pain after losing both his arms and legs and it was based on the experience of Silas Weir when he looked after the war amputees at Turner’s Lane hospital.
