'Duplicate limbs' sensation in acute traumatic quadriplegia

A 64-year-old man sustained acute quadriplegia due to a traffic accident, while in the midst of a petit mal seizure. After recovery from the initial medical complications he developed a duplicate limb phenomenon. The patient felt that another pair of upper and lower limbs had grown from his body, parallel to the paralysed limbs. To the best of our knowledge this duplicate phenomenon in all limbs has not been described before in a traumatic quadriplegic patient. It is our impression that this phenomenon is a rare example of preoccupation with the paralytic limbs, of sensory deprivation with a (possible) unusual drug reaction.