Despite major advances in pain research and analgesic therapy over recent decades,
persistent pain referred to a lost body part (phantom pain) may produce a disabling
syndrome. Ambrose Pare first described phantom pain in military amputees in the
midsixteenth century. Since then, painful phantoms of limb, digit, eye, nose, teeth, tongue,
breast, bladder, anus, and genital organs have been reported. 13, 30, 52, 53 Understanding
of the pathophysiologic basis of these interesting, complex conditions has improved with …