Spinal Cord Stimulation Combined with Anterior Cingulotomy to Manage Refractory Phantom Limb Pain

Phantom limb pain (PLP) is an intractable and debilitating disease without satisfactory treatment options presently available. Central reorganization, peripheral changes, and psychiatric factors contribute to its development; thus, a neuropsychiatry-orientated combined therapy could be promising.

We used a combined strategy with the aims of demonstrating its therapeutic outcomes on PLP.

The patient initially received spinal cord stimulation (SCS) implantation and then anterior cingulotomy (ACING) 2 years later. We administered the Hamilton Depression Scale-24, Hamilton Anxiety Scale, Pain Rating Index, Numerical Pain Rating Scale, and the Short Form (36) Health Survey to assess its outcomes at 5 time points, namely the time before performing SCS implantation, 1 year and 2 years after SCS implantation, and 1 year and 2 years after SCS combined with ACING.

Excellent pain relief and significant improvement in depression symptoms were observed in this patient with PLP who underwent SCS combined with ACING.

This report suggests that SCS combined with ACING is efficacious for PLP. However, further studies are warranted.