stump pain or phantom pain. In stump pain, occurs in between five per cent and 15 per patients often report a tender spot on the cent of vasectomy patients. stump and this has led many surgeons to perform further operations to try and find the Dr Bruce is Principal Research Fellow based at the Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, University of cause. Patients in the past have frequently had further amputations in the mistaken Warwick. belief that this would cure the problem. Such Dr Macrae is now retired. He was previously operations rarely help stump pain and Consultant in Pain Medicine at Ninewells sometimes make it worse or make it more Hospital, Dundee. difficult for the patient to wear an artificial limb. If you would like to know more about the sources of evidence consulted for this Phantom limb pain can affect between 50 per publication please visit . cent and 85 per cent of amputees. It usually starts in the first few weeks after surgery. Studies suggest that painful phantom symptoms can last between one hour and 15 Chronic Pain after Surgery © Copyright Julie hours a day and can vary between five days a Bruce & William Macrae. All rights reserved. month and 20 days. Similarly the reported June 2015. To be reviewed June 2018. severity is very variable. It is now acknowledged that children get phantom limb pain and that people born without limbs also suffer from it. Recent research has shown that part of the pain after amputation arises due to activity in the brain itself and this underlines the futility of methods of treatment aimed directly at the stump. chronic post-surgical pain syndromes Other operations with known risks of chronic pain include vasectomy, hernia repair, joint replacement and surgery for back pain. Vasectomy is the second most common operation performed on men worldwide. It is performed for societal reasons rather than illness and men having vasectomies are before the procedure. It is distressing, therefore, to find that chronic testicular pain
stump pain or phantom pain. In stump pain, patients often report a tender spot on the stump and this has led many surgeons to perform further operations to try and find the cause. Patients in the past have frequently had further amputations in the mistaken belief that this would cure the problem. Such operations rarely help stump pain and sometimes make it worse or make it more difficult for the patient to wear an artificial limb. Phantom limb pain can affect between 50 per cent and 85 per cent of amputees. It usually starts in the first few weeks after surgery. Studies suggest that painful phantom symptoms can last between one hour and 15 hours a day and can vary between five days a month and 20 days. Similarly the reported severity is very variable. It is now acknowledged that children get phantom limb pain and that people born without limbs also suffer from it. Recent research has shown that part of the pain after amputation arises due to activity in the brain itself and this underlines the futility of methods of treatment aimed directly at the stump. chronic post-surgical pain syndromes Other operations with known risks of chronic pain include vasectomy, hernia repair, joint replacement and surgery for back pain. Vasectomy is the second most common operation performed on men worldwide. It is performed for societal reasons rather than illness and men having vasectomies are before the procedure. It is distressing, therefore, to find that chronic testicular pain occurs in between five per cent and 15 per cent of vasectomy patients. Dr Bruce is Principal Research Fellow based at the Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, University of Warwick. Dr Macrae is now retired. He was previously Consultant in Pain Medicine at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. If you would like to know more about the sources of evidence consulted for this publication please visit . Chronic Pain after Surgery © Copyright Julie Bruce & William Macrae. All rights reserved. June 2015. To be reviewed June 2018.
Chronic-pain-after-surgery-2.0.docx