Phantom radicular pain treated with lumbar microdiscectomy: a case report

Abstract

Phantom limb pain in amputee patients is not well defined in the literature. Also, there is still no clear information on the definition and treatment of phantom radicular pain, in which amputee patients have radicular pain. This phenomenon, called phantom radiculitis or phantom radiculopathy, has been described in a limited number of cases. If a pathological condition that may cause radicular pain is present in amputee patients, the severity of phantom pain increases. Degenerative disc disease is the most common cause of phantom radicular pain. Spinal injection can be used to control this pain. Surgical treatment can be performed when adequate pain control cannot be achieved. The phantom radicular pain of the patient is expected to improve after surgical or medical treatment. The pain is expected to descend to previous levels if phantom pain was present previously. In this paper, we present and discuss a case of phantom radicular pain in the context of treatment with lumbar microdiscectomy.