Phanton limb sensation under subarachnoid and epidural analgesia - a comparative clinical study of two hundred cases

Two hundred patients scheduled for various surgical procedures, under subarachnoid and epidural anaesthesia were divided in two groups of 100 for each technique. Subarachnoid analgesia was obtained with five per cent lidocaine, while epidural analgesia was accomplished with 1.5 per cent or 2 per cent lidocaine with adrenaline. This study shows that phantom sensation is painless and self limiting and that it lasts only for the duration of motor and proprioceptive blockade. It does not require any special treatment except psychotherapy, supplemented if needed by tranquilizers. Patients should be positioned after motor blockade has been established.