Amputations have been performed since Prehistoric times and are known as one of the oldest surgical procedures. Although in the Neolithic ages amputations were more brutal, some of the same principles are used in today’s amputations. The earliest writings of amputations date back to the 1700 BCE in the Babylonian code of Hammurabi. It describes the first therapeutic amputation for vascular gangrene. Before anesthesia patients had to be held down during the procedure and were usually highly intoxicated. The main risks for this newly discovered procedure were hemorrhaging, shock, and sepsis (Ertl, Pritchett, Erlt, Brackett, 2014).
Etiology of Phantom Pain
Phantom pain is experienced by some amputees after having a part of the body removed. Doctors …show more content…
An MRI is a noninvasive use of a magnetic field that radiofrequency pulses go through to produce a detailed picture of internal structures of the body on the computer (Radiologyinfo.org, 2014).On the other hand , a PET scan, uses radiation which results in a 3-dimensional image of the functions occurring in the human body (Nordqvist, 2015). Phantom pain is diagnosed mostly by the symptoms that the amputee is experiencing after their procedure however it should not be confused with residual limb pain. Residual limb pain symptoms include sharp, jabbing pain within the stump that develops soon after the amputation and can be aggravated with pressure on the limb. Phantom pain develops after the wound from the operation is healed, which could be months or years after the amputation (Rose, 2014). The most common triggers of phantom pain are touch, urination or defecation, sexual intercourse, angina, cigarette smoking, changes in barometric pressure, herpes zoster and exposure to cold. The two types of pain are not the same however they can occur simultaneously, so describing your type of pain and when it first started to occur is very important to differentiate between the two (Mayo Clinic,
Etiology of Phantom Pain
Phantom pain is experienced by some amputees after having a part of the body removed. Doctors …show more content…
An MRI is a noninvasive use of a magnetic field that radiofrequency pulses go through to produce a detailed picture of internal structures of the body on the computer (Radiologyinfo.org, 2014).On the other hand , a PET scan, uses radiation which results in a 3-dimensional image of the functions occurring in the human body (Nordqvist, 2015). Phantom pain is diagnosed mostly by the symptoms that the amputee is experiencing after their procedure however it should not be confused with residual limb pain. Residual limb pain symptoms include sharp, jabbing pain within the stump that develops soon after the amputation and can be aggravated with pressure on the limb. Phantom pain develops after the wound from the operation is healed, which could be months or years after the amputation (Rose, 2014). The most common triggers of phantom pain are touch, urination or defecation, sexual intercourse, angina, cigarette smoking, changes in barometric pressure, herpes zoster and exposure to cold. The two types of pain are not the same however they can occur simultaneously, so describing your type of pain and when it first started to occur is very important to differentiate between the two (Mayo Clinic,