View source for Phantom limb

{{Short description|Sensation that an amputated or missing limb is attached}}
{{Hatnote group|{{Redirect-distinguish|Phantom limb syndrome|Alien limb syndrome}}{{other uses}}}}{{Infobox medical condition (new)
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| image           = Cat with phantom forelimb.webmhd.webm
| caption         = A cat attempting to use its left foreleg to scoop litter several months after it has been amputated
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A '''phantom limb''' is the sensation that an [[amputation|amputated]] or missing [[limb (anatomy)|limb]] is still attached. It is a chronic condition that is often resistant to treatment.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sembulingam |first=K. |title=Essentials of medical physiology |date=11 July 2023 |publisher=K. Sembulingam and prema Sembulingam |isbn=978-93-5696-326-9 |edition=9th |page=717}}</ref>  Approximately 80–100% of individuals with an [[amputation]] experience sensations in their amputated limb. However, only a small percentage will experience painful phantom limb sensations ([[phantom pain]]). These sensations are relatively common in amputees and usually resolve within two to three years without treatment. Research continues to explore the underlying mechanisms of phantom limb pain (PLP) and effective treatment options.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Manchikanti|first1=Laxmaiah|title=chapter 28 - Phantom Pain Syndromes|date=2007-01-01|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780721603346500327|work=Pain Management|pages=304–315|editor-last=Waldman|editor-first=Steven D.|publisher=W.B. Saunders|doi=10.1016/b978-0-7216-0334-6.50032-7|isbn=978-0-7216-0334-6|access-date=2019-12-09|last2=Singh|first2=Vijay|last3=Boswell|first3=Mark V.|editor2-last=Bloch|editor2-first=Joseph I.|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Signs and symptoms==

Most (80–100%) amputees experience a phantom limb, with some of them having non-painful sensations.<ref name="PhantomReview2007">{{cite journal |last1=Chahine |first1=Lama |last2=Kanazi |first2=Ghassan |date=2007 |title= Phantom limb syndrome: A review |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0f8d/2b80b5c20ed0e21076de4b5ac48327ca05d2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721010514/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0f8d/2b80b5c20ed0e21076de4b5ac48327ca05d2.pdf |archive-date=2019-07-21 |journal= MEJ Anesth|volume=19 |issue= 2|pages=345–55 |s2cid=16240786 |access-date=July 20, 2019 }}</ref> The amputee may feel very strongly that the phantom limb is still part of the body.<ref name="Melzack1992">{{cite journal |author=Melzack |first=Ronald |author-link=Ronald Melzack |year=1992 |title=Phantom limbs |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/phantom-limbs-2006-09/ |journal=[[Scientific American]] |volume=266 |issue=4 |pages=120–126 |bibcode=1992SciAm.266d.120M |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0492-120 |pmid=1566028|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

People will sometimes feel as if they are gesturing, feel itches, twitch, or even try to pick things up.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pain Perception in Phantom Limb |url=http://flipper.diff.org/app/items/info/6681 |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=flipper.diff.org}}</ref> The missing limb often feels shorter and may feel as if it is in a distorted and painful position. Occasionally, the pain can be made worse by [[stress (medicine)|stress]], [[anxiety]] and [[Weather pains|weather changes]].<ref name="textbook">{{cite book |author1=Nikolajsen, L.  |author2=Jensen, T. S. |year = 2006 |veditors=  McMahon S, Koltzenburg M | title = Wall & Melzack's Textbook of Pain |pages=961–971 |edition=5th |publisher=[[Elsevier]]}}</ref> Exposure to extreme weather conditions, especially below freezing temperatures, can cause increased sensitivity to the sensation. Phantom limb pain is usually intermittent, but can be continuous in some cases. The frequency and intensity of attacks usually declines with time.<ref name="textbook"/>

Repressed memories in phantom limbs could potentially explain the reason for existing sensations after amputation. Specifically, there have been several reports from patients of painful clenching spasms in the phantom hand with the feeling of their nails digging into their palms. The motor output is amplified due to the missing limb; therefore, the patient may experience the overflow of information as pain. The patient contains repressed memories from previous motor commands of clenching the hand and sensory information from digging their nails into their palm. These memories remain due to previous neural connections in the brain.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ramachandran |first=Vilayanur Subramanian |author-link=V. S. Ramachandran |date=1998-11-29 |title=Consciousness and body image: lessons from phantom limbs, Capgras syndrome and pain asymbolia |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences |volume=353 |issue=1377 |pages=1851–1859 |doi=10.1098/rstb.1998.0337 |issn=0962-8436 |pmc=1692421 |pmid=9854257}}</ref>

==Phantom limb syndrome==

The term "phantom limb" was coined in 1872 by a physician named [[Silas Weir Mitchell (physician)|Silas Weir Mitchell]], who, almost poetically, reported that ''<nowiki/>'...nearly every man who loses limb carries about with him constant or inconstant phantom of the missing member, sensory ghost of that much of himself, and sometimes most inconvenient presence, faintly felt at times, but ready to be called up to his perception by blow, touch, or change of wind'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Injuries of nerves and their consequences - Digital Collections - National Library of Medicine |url=https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-66230920R-bk |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=collections.nlm.nih.gov}}</ref> Nevertheless, there have been earlier reports of the phenomenon.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Woodhouse Annie | year = 2005 | title = Phantom limb sensation | url = | journal = Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology | volume = 32 | issue = 1–2| pages = 132–134 | doi = 10.1111/j.1440-1681.2005.04142.x | pmid = 15730449 }}</ref> One of the first known medical descriptions of the phantom limb phenomenon was written by a French military surgeon, [[Ambroise Paré|Ambroise Pare]], in the sixteenth century. Pare noticed that some of his patients continued reporting pain in the removed limb after he performed the amputation.<ref name=":1"/> For many years, the dominant hypothesis for the cause of phantom limbs was irritation in the peripheral nervous system at the amputation site ([[neuroma]]). By the late 1980s, [[Ronald Melzack]] had recognized that the peripheral neuroma account could not be correct, because many people born without limbs also experienced phantom limbs.<ref name = "Melz1989">[http://www.psych.mcgill.ca/perpg/fac/melzack/phantom_limbs.pdf ''Canadian Psychology'', 1989, 30:1]</ref> According to Melzack the experience of the body is created by a wide network of interconnecting neural structures, which he called the "neuromatrix".<ref name = "Melz1989"/>

Pons and colleagues (1991) at the [[National Institutes of Health]] (NIH) showed that the primary somatosensory cortex in [[macaque monkey]]s undergoes substantial reorganization after the loss of sensory input.<ref name="Pons1991">{{cite journal |last1=Pons |first1=Tim P. |last2=Garraghty |first2=Preston E. |last3=Ommaya |first3=Alexander K. |last4=Kaas |first4=Jon H. |author-link4=Jon Kaas |last5=Taub |first5=Edward |year=1991 |title=Massive cortical reorganization after sensory deafferentation in adult macaques. |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=252 |issue=5014 |pages=1857–1860 |bibcode=1991Sci...252.1857P |doi=10.1126/science.1843843 |pmid=1843843 |s2cid=7960162}}</ref>

Hearing about these results, [[V. S. Ramachandran]] hypothesized that phantom limb sensations in humans could be due to reorganization in the human brain's somatosensory cortex. Ramachandran and colleagues illustrated this hypothesis by showing that stroking different parts of the face led to perceptions of being touched on different parts of the missing limb. Later brain scans of amputees showed the same kind of cortical reorganization that Pons had observed in monkeys.<ref name="RamachandranHirstein1998">{{cite journal |title=The perception of phantom limbs |journal=Brain |first1=VS|last1=Ramchandran |first2=William|last2=Hirstein |year=1998 |volume=121|pages=1603–1630 |pmid = 9762952 |doi=10.1093/brain/121.9.1603 |issue=9|doi-access=free }}</ref> Ramachandran have also performed the world's first phantom limb amputation surgeries by asking patients to visualize the missing limb, which relieved pain, and in the long term completely removed the sensation of a phantom limb – the method is now known as the [[mirror therapy]].<ref>{{cite journal |title= Mirror therapy |journal=Multisensory Perception|first1=VS|last1=Ramchandran |year=2020 |pages=449–461 |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-812492-5.00020-6 |doi-access=free |isbn=978-0-12-812492-5 }}</ref>

Maladaptive changes in the cortex may account for some but not all phantom limb pain. Pain researchers such as [[Tamar Makin]] (Oxford) and Marshall Devor (Hebrew University, Jerusalem) argue that phantom limb pain is primarily the result of "junk" inputs from the peripheral nervous system.<ref name="painjournalonline.com">[http://www.painjournalonline.com/article/S0304-3959%2814%2900197-3/abstract "Peripheral nervous system origin of phantom limb pain"], ''Pain'', Vol. 155, Issue 7, pages 1384-1391.</ref> Despite a great deal of research on the underlying neural mechanisms of phantom limb pain there is still no clear consensus as to its cause. Both the brain and the peripheral nervous system may be involved.<ref name = "2018Rev1">{{cite journal |last1=Collins |first1= Kassondra L|last2=Russell |first2= Hannah G.|date= 2018|title= A review of current theories and treatments for phantom limb pain|journal= J Clin Invest|volume=128 |issue= 6|pages= 2168–2176|doi= 10.1172/JCI94003|pmid= 29856366|pmc= 5983333|quote= Currently, the most commonly posited CNS theory is the cortical remapping theory (CRT), in which the brain is believed to respond to limb loss by reorganizing somatosensory maps (16)... While an amputation directly affects the PNS, the CNS is also affected due to changes in sensory and movement signaling. Debate still remains over the cause and maintaining factors of both phantom limbs and the associated pain.
}}</ref>

Research continues into more precise mechanisms and explanations.<ref name = "2018Rev2">{{cite journal |last1= Kaur|first1= Amreet|last2= Guan|first2= Yuxi|date= 2018|title= Phantom limb pain: A literature review|journal=Chin J Traumatol |volume= 21|issue= 6|pages=366–368 |doi= 10.1016/j.cjtee.2018.04.006|pmid= 30583983|quote= It is unsurprising that with an amputation that such an intricate highway of information transport to and from the periphery may have the potential for problematic neurologic developments...Although phantom limb sensation has already been described and proposed by French military surgeon Ambroise Pare 500 years ago, there is still no detailed explanation of its mechanisms.|pmc= 6354174}}</ref>

=== Differentiation of limb sensations ===
Phantom limb syndrome (PLS) is a sensation that the amputated or missing limb is still attached to the body. This is different from residual limb pain (RLP) that is often experienced by people with amputations. While RLP occurs in the remaining or residual body part, the pain or sensation associated with PLS can be experienced in the entire limb or just one portion of the missing limb. Phantom limb can also present itself in two ways: phantom limb pain or phantom limb sensations. Phantom limb pain is a painful or unpleasant sensation experienced where the amputated limb was. Phantom sensations are any other, nonpainful sensations perceived in the amputated or missing limb area.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Hsu |first1=Eugene |last2=Cohen |first2=Steven P. |date=2013-02-13 |title=Postamputation pain: epidemiology, mechanisms, and treatment |journal=Journal of Pain Research |language=English |volume=6 |pages=121–136 |doi=10.2147/JPR.S32299 |pmc=3576040 |pmid=23426608 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==== Types of phantom sensations ====
There are 3 differentiated types of phantom sensations: kinetic, kinesthetic, and exteroceptive. Kinetic phantom sensations are perceived movements of the amputated body part (i.e., feeling your toes flex). Kinesthetic phantom sensations are related to the size, shape, or position of the amputated body part (i.e., feeling as if your hand is in a twisted position). Exteroceptive phantom sensations are related to sensations perceived to be felt by the amputated body part (i.e., feelings of touch, pressure, tingling, temperature, itch, and vibrations).

An additional sensation that some people with amputations experience is known as telescoping. Telescoping is when you feel as if your amputated limb is becoming more proximal to your body through progressive shortening.<ref name=":0" />

===Neural mechanisms===
Pain, temperature, touch, and pressure information are carried to the [[central nervous system]] via the anterolateral system ([[spinothalamic tract]]s, [[spinoreticular tract]], spinomesencefalic tract), with pain and temperature information transferred via lateral spinothalamic tracts to the [[primary sensory cortex]], located in the [[postcentral gyrus]] in the [[parietal lobe]], where sensory information is represented somatotropically, forming the [[sensory homunculus]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kaur|first1=Amreet|last2=Guan|first2=Yuxi|date=December 2018|title=Phantom limb pain: A literature review|journal=Chinese Journal of Traumatology|volume=21|issue=6|pages=366–368|doi=10.1016/j.cjtee.2018.04.006|pmid=30583983|issn=1008-1275|doi-access=free|pmc=6354174}}</ref> Somatotopic representation seems to be a factor in the experience of phantom limb, with larger regions in the sensory homunculus typically experiencing more phantom sensations or pain. These areas include the hands, feet, fingers and toes.

In phantom limb syndrome, there is sensory input indicating pain from a part of the body that is no longer existent. This phenomenon is still not fully understood, but it is hypothesized that it is caused by activation of the [[somatosensory cortex]].<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last1=Nikolajsen |first1=Lone |chapter=Phantom Limb Pain |date=2015 |title=Nerves and Nerve Injuries |pages=23–34 |publisher=Elsevier |last2=Christensen |first2=Kristian Friesgaard|doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-802653-3.00051-8 |isbn=978-0-12-802653-3 }}</ref> One theory is it may be related to central sensitization, which is a common experience among amputees. Central sensitization is when there are changes in the responsiveness of the neurons in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, which deals with processing somatosensory information, due to increased activity from the peripheral nociceptors. Peripheral nociceptors are sensory neurons that alert us to potentially damaging stimuli.<ref name=":1" />

There are theories that the phantom limb phenomenon may relate to reorganization of the somatosensory cortex after the limb is removed. When the body receives tactile input near the residual limb, the brain is convinced that the sensory input was received from the amputated limb because another brain region took over. Reorganization has been thought to be related to sensory-discriminative parts of pain as well as the affective-emotional parts of it (I.e., insula, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the frontal cortices).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Willoch |first1=Frode |last2=Rosen |first2=Gunnar |last3=Tolle |first3=Thomas Rudolf |last4=Oye |first4=Ivar |last5=Wester |first5=Hans Jurgen |last6=Berner |first6=Niels |last7=Schwaiger |first7=Markus |last8=Bartenstein |first8=Peter |date=December 2000 |title=Phantom limb pain in the human brain: Unraveling neural circuitries of phantom limb sensations using positron emission tomography |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1531-8249(200012)48:6%3C842::AID-ANA4%3E3.0.CO;2-T |journal=Annals of Neurology |language=en |volume=48 |issue=6 |pages=842–849 |doi=10.1002/1531-8249(200012)48:6<842::AID-ANA4>3.0.CO;2-T |issn=0364-5134 |pmid=11117540 |s2cid=2206540|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Phantom sensations can also occur when there has been a peripheral nerve injury resulting in deafferentation. This causes changes in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, which normally has an inhibitory effect on sensory transmission.<ref name=":0" />

==Treatment==
Most approaches to treatment over the past two decades have not shown consistent symptom improvement. Treatment approaches have included [[medication]] such as [[antidepressants]], [[spinal cord]] stimulation, [[Oscillation|vibration]] [[physical therapy|therapy]], [[acupuncture]], [[hypnosis]], and [[biofeedback]].<ref>
{{cite journal | first1=Jens   | last1=Foell | first2=Robin | last2=Bekrater-Bodmann | first3=Herta | last3=Flor | first4=Jonathan | last4=Cole | title=Phantom Limb Pain After Lower Limb Trauma: Origins and Treatments | journal= The International Journal of Lower Extremity Wounds| date=December 2011 | volume=10 | issue=4 | pages=224–235 | doi=10.1177/1534734611428730| pmid=22184752 | s2cid=1182039 }}</ref> Reliable evidence is lacking on whether any treatment is more effective than the others.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Alviar|first1=Maria Jenelyn M.|last2=Hale|first2=Tom|last3=Dungca|first3=Monalisa|date=2016-10-14|title=Pharmacologic interventions for treating phantom limb pain|journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews|volume=10|issue=8 |article-number=CD006380|doi=10.1002/14651858.CD006380.pub3|issn=1469-493X|pmid=27737513|pmc=6472447}}</ref>
[[File:Ramachandran-mirrorbox.svg|thumb|280x280px|A mirror box used for treating phantom limbs, developed by V.S. Ramachandran]]
Most treatments are not very effective.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Flor | first1=H | last2=Nikolajsen | first2=L | last3=Jensn | first3=T | title=Phantom limb pain: a case of maladaptive CNS plasticity? | journal=Nature Reviews Neuroscience | volume=7 | issue=11 | date=November 2006 | pages=873–881 | url=http://krieger.jhu.edu/sebin/s/u/Flor_et_al_2006.pdf | doi=10.1038/nrn1991 | pmid=17053811 | s2cid=2809584 | access-date=2012-04-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722014045/http://krieger.jhu.edu/sebin/s/u/Flor_et_al_2006.pdf | archive-date=2012-07-22 }}</ref> [[Ketamine]] or [[morphine]] may be useful around the time of surgery.<ref name=Mc2014/> Morphine may be helpful for longer periods of time.<ref name=Mc2014/> Evidence for [[gabapentin]] is mixed.<ref name=Mc2014>{{cite journal|last1=McCormick|first1=Z|last2=Chang-Chien|first2=G|last3=Marshall|first3=B|last4=Huang|first4=M|last5=Harden|first5=RN|title=Phantom limb pain: a systematic neuroanatomical-based review of pharmacologic treatment.|journal=[[Pain Medicine (journal)|Pain Medicine]]|date=February 2014|volume=15|issue=2|pages=292–305|pmid=24224475|doi=10.1111/pme.12283|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Perineural catheter]]s that provide [[local anesthetic]] agents have poor evidence of success when placed after surgery in an effort to prevent phantom limb pain.<ref name=Bos2015>{{Cite journal  | last1 = Bosanquet | first1 = DC. | last2 = Glasbey | first2 = JC. | last3 = Stimpson | first3 = A. | last4 = Williams | first4 = IM. | last5 = Twine | first5 = CP. | title = Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Efficacy of Perineural Local Anaesthetic Catheters after Major Lower Limb Amputation. | journal = Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg | volume =  50| issue =  2| pages =  241–9|date=Jun 2015 | doi = 10.1016/j.ejvs.2015.04.030 | pmid = 26067167 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

One approach that has received public interest is the use of a [[mirror box]]. The mirror box provides a reflection of the intact hand or limb that allows the patient to "move" the phantom limb, and to unclench it from potentially painful positions.<ref name = Ramachandran1995>{{cite journal | author = Ramachandran, V. S., Rogers-Ramachandran, D. C., Cobb, S. |year=1995 |title=Touching the phantom |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=377 |pages=489–490 | pmid = 7566144 |doi=10.1038/377489a0 |issue=6549|s2cid=4349556 }}</ref><ref name = Ramachandran1996>{{cite journal | author = Ramachandran, V. S., Rogers-Ramachandran, D. C. |year=1996 |title=Synaesthesia in phantom limbs induced with mirrors |url= http://psy.ucsd.edu/chip/pdf/Synsth_Phant_Lmb_P_Roy_Soc.pdf |journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B]] |volume=263 |issue=1369 |pages=377–386 | pmid = 8637922 |doi=10.1098/rspb.1996.0058|bibcode=1996RSPSB.263..377R |s2cid=4819370 }}</ref>

Although mirror therapy was introduced by [[VS Ramachandran]] in the early 1990s, little research was done on it before 2009, and much of the subsequent research has been of poor quality, according to a 2016 review.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The effects of mirror therapy on pain and motor control of phantom limb in amputees: A systematic review |journal=[[Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine]] |volume=59 |date=September 2016 |pages=270–275 |quote=" "The level of evidence is insufficient to recommend MT as a first intention treatment for PLP"" |doi=10.1016/j.rehab.2016.04.001 |author=Barbin J., Seetha V., Casillas J.M., Paysant J., Pérennou D. |issue=4 |pmid=27256539|doi-access=free }}</ref> A 2018 review, which also criticized the scientific quality of many reports on mirror therapy (MT), found 15 good-quality studies conducted between 2012 and 2017 (out of a pool of 115 publications), and concluded that "MT seems to be effective in relieving PLP, reducing the intensity and duration of daily pain episodes. It is a valid, simple, and inexpensive treatment for PLP."<ref name="2018ReviewMT">{{cite journal |last1= Campo-Prieto|first1= P|last2=Rodríguez-Fuentes |first2= G|date= November 14, 2018|title= Effectiveness of mirror therapy in phantom limb pain: A literature review|journal= Neurologia |volume= 37|issue= 8|pages= 668–681|doi= 10.1016/j.nrl.2018.08.003|pmid= 30447854|quote=It is a valid, simple, and inexpensive treatment for PLP. The methodological quality of most publications in this field is very limited, highlighting the need for additional, high-quality studies to develop clinical protocols that could maximise the benefits of MT for patients with PLP. |doi-access= free|hdl= 11093/7746|hdl-access= free}}</ref> Nevertheless, the debate in the field remains open. A 2025 scoping review reported 'significant heterogeneity of practice' and 'a lack of consensus on treatment frameworks' in the literature, indicating that the effectiveness of the treatment remains hard to assess.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Guémann |first1=Matthieu |last2=Arribart |first2=Kevin |date=2025 |title=Examining heterogeneity and reporting of mirror therapy intervention for phantom limb pain: A scoping review |journal=Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy |volume=29 |issue=2 |article-number=101165 |doi=10.1016/j.bjpt.2024.101165 |issn=1809-9246 |pmc=11795053 |pmid=39854947}}</ref> New approaches, such as the use of [[Virtual reality therapy|virtual reality]] to simulate the missing limb, are supported by similarly weak evidence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hali |first1=Kalter |last2=Manzo |first2=Marc A. |last3=Koucheki |first3=Robert |last4=Wunder |first4=Jay S. |last5=Jenkinson |first5=Richard J. |last6=Mayo |first6=Amanda L. |last7=Ferguson |first7=Peter C. |last8=Lex |first8=Johnathan R. |date=2024-02-13 |title=Use of virtual reality for the management of phantom limb pain: a systematic review |journal=Disability and Rehabilitation |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=629–636 |doi=10.1080/09638288.2023.2172222 |issn=0963-8288 |pmid=36724203}}</ref>

==Other phantom sensations==
Phantom sensations may also occur after the removal of body parts other than the limbs, e.g. after amputation of the [[breast]],<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ahmed|first1=A.|last2=Bhatnagar|first2=S.|last3=Rana|first3=S. P.|last4=Ahmad|first4=S. M.|last5=Joshi|first5=S.|last6=Mishra|first6=S.|title=Prevalence of phantom breast pain and sensation among postmastectomy patients suffering from breast cancer: a prospective study|journal=Pain Pract|date=2014|volume=14|issue=2|pages=E17–28|doi=10.1111/papr.12089|pmid=23789788|s2cid=29407160 |doi-access=free}}</ref> extraction of a tooth (phantom tooth pain)<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Marbach|first1=J. J.|last2=Raphael|first2=K. G.|title=Phantom tooth pain: a new look at an old dilemma|journal=Pain Med|date=2000|volume=1|issue=1|pages=68–77|pmid=15101965|doi=10.1046/j.1526-4637.2000.00012.x|doi-access=free}}</ref> or removal of an eye ([[phantom eye syndrome]]).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sörös|first1=P.|last2=Vo|first2=O.|last3=Husstedt|first3=I.-W.|last4=Evers|first4=S.|last5=Gerding|first5=H.|title=Phantom eye syndrome: Its prevalence, phenomenology, and putative mechanisms|journal=Neurology|date=2003|volume=60|issue=9|pages=1542–1543|pmid=12743251|doi=10.1212/01.wnl.0000059547.68899.f5|s2cid=27474612}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Andreotti|first1=A. M.|last2=Goiato|first2=M. C.|last3=Pellizzer|first3=E. P.|last4=Pesqueira|first4=A. A.|last5=Guiotti|first5=A. M.|last6=Gennari-Filho|first6=H.|last7=dos Santos|first7=D. M.|title=Phantom eye syndrome: A review of the literature|journal=ScientificWorldJournal|date=2014|volume=2014|article-number=686493|doi=10.1155/2014/686493|pmid=25548790|pmc=4273592|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Phantom sensations have been noted in the transgender population. Some people who have undergone sex reassignment surgery (SRS) have reported the sensation of phantom genitals. The reports were less common among post-[[sexual reassignment surgery|operative]] [[trans woman|transgender women]], but did occur in [[trans man|transgender men]]. Phantom penises in pre-SRS transgender men have been documented to be similar to the rate of phantom sensations in cis men post-penectomy.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/imp/jcs/2008/00000015/00000001/art00001|title=Phantom Penises in Transsexuals|journal=Journal of Consciousness Studies |date=January 2008 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=5–16 |last1=Ramachandran |first1=V. S. |last2=McGeoch |first2=P. D. }}</ref> Similarly, subjects who had undergone [[mastectomy]] reported experiencing phantom breasts; these reports were substantially less common among post-[[sexual reassignment surgery|operative]] transgender men.<ref name="Consciousness">[http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/imp/jcs/2008/00000015/00000001/art00001 Phantom Penises In Transsexuals], by V.S. Ramachandran; in ''[[Journal of Consciousness Studies]]'' Volume 15, Number 1, 2008, pp. 5-16(12); retrieved July 30, 2016</ref>

==See also==
* [[Neuropathic pain]]
* [[Supernumerary phantom limb]], where sensations are felt in a limb that never existed
* [[Synesthesia]]
* [[Visual release hallucinations]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* {{cite book | author = Hanyu-Deutmeyer AA, Cascella M, Varacallo M | year = 2023 | title = Phantom Limb Pain | url = | publisher = StatPearls Publishing | pmid = 28846343 }}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Citation | last1=Halligan | first1=P.W. | last2=Zeman | first2=A. | last3=Berger| first3=A. | year=1999 | title=Phantoms in the Brain | journal=[[British Medical Journal]] | volume=319 | issue=7210 | pages=587–588 | doi=10.1136/bmj.319.7210.587 | pmid=10473458 | pmc=1116476| title-link=Phantoms in the Brain }}
* {{Citation | last=Halligan | first=P.W. | year=2002 | title=Phantom limbs: The body in mind | journal=[[Cognitive Neuropsychiatry (journal)|Cognitive Neuropsychiatry]] | volume=7 | issue=3 | pages=251–268 | doi=10.1080/13546800244000111 | pmid=16571541| s2cid=31375410 }}
* {{Citation | last=Murray | first=C. | year=2009 | title=Amputation, Prosthesis Use, and Phantom Limb Pain | doi=10.1007/978-0-387-87462-3_1  | pages=1–5| isbn= 978-0-387-87461-6 | chapter=Developing an Interdisciplinary Perspective on Amputation, Prosthesis Use, and Phantom Limb Pain: An Introduction | publisher=Springer }}
* {{cite journal | author = [[Vilayanur S. Ramachandran]], Brang David | year = 2009| title = Phantom touch | journal = [[Scholarpedia]] | volume = 4 | issue = 10| page = 8244 | doi = 10.4249/scholarpedia.8244 | bibcode = 2009SchpJ...4.8244R| doi-access = free }}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Medical resources
|  ICD11      = {{ICD11|8E43.00}}
|  ICD10      = {{ICD10|G|54|6|g|50}}, {{ICD10|G|54|7|g|50}}
|  ICD9       = {{ICD9|353.6}}
|  MeshID     = D010591
|  DiseasesDB = 29431
}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190721010514/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0f8d/2b80b5c20ed0e21076de4b5ac48327ca05d2.pdf Phantom limb syndrome: A review] M.E.J. ANESTH 19 (2), 2007

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Neurological disorders]]
[[Category:Syndromes]]
[[Category:Amputation]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Hallucinations]]