Radiologists Demonstrate Minimally Invasive Procedure that can Freeze Phantom Limb Pain

Researchers have presented the results of a study investing the use of cryoablation to reduce Phantom Limb Pain (PLP) in patients with chronic pain in amputated limbs.

The researchers showed that interventional radiologists can apply cryoablation to specific nerves of patients suffering from PLP, significantly reducing their level of pain from phantom limbs. The researchers also investigated the safety and effectiveness of the PLP treatment. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta, GA, USA) there are nearly 185,000 limb amputations every year in the US, including military veterans wounded in war, and amputations performed to treat disease.


The new findings of the clinical trial, entitled, “Percutaneous Image Guided Cryoablation for the Treatment of Refractory Phantom Limb Pain” were presented by researchers at the Emory Interventional Radiology and Image Guided Medicine Emory University School of Medicine (Atlanta, Georgia), at the 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology.

The trial included 25 participants in a prospective, single-arm study, in which patients were asked to rate PLP using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), before, seven days after, and 45 days after the procedure. The results showed that the average pain score was 6.4 points before cryoablation. Forty-five days after cryoablation the average pain score fell to 2.4 points on the VAS scale that ranges from 0 (no pain) to 100 (worst possible pain).

Prologo, director of Interventional Radiology, Emory Johns Creek Hospital, and assistant professor, Emory School of Medicine, said, “More veterans than ever are returning from war with amputations, because of improved body armor and extraction techniques. At the same time, veterans who fought in the Vietnam War still suffer from phantom limb pain. Until now, they’ve had few medical interventions available to them with the potential to reduce significant pain. We insert a cryoablation probe into the nerves causing pain and drop the temperature to negative 40 degrees centigrade for 25 minutes.”

Related Links:
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Emory University School of Medicine