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Targeted Muscle Reinnervation at the Time of Upper-Extremity Amputation for the Treatment of Pain Severity and Symptoms

·J Hand Surg Am·2020·83 citations·Hand & Upper
DOI·PubMed
SummaryAbstract on PubMed →

This retrospective study asks whether performing targeted muscle reinnervation at the time of major upper-extremity amputation reduces phantom and residual limb pain. Sixteen early TMR patients were compared against 55 benchmark amputees without TMR using NRS and PROMIS pain scores. It tests whether a single index operation can prophylactically prevent the pain syndromes that ordinarily require a second procedure to treat.

Study Snapshot

Design
Retrospective cohort study
Setting: Two academic medical centers (Ohio State, Northwestern)
Funding: None disclosed
Objective
Whether TMR performed at the time of amputation reduces PLP and RLP severity in upper-extremity amputees.
Outcome(s)
NRS and PROMIS pain intensity, behavior, and interference scores for PLP and RLP
Subjects
71 patients
  • 16Early TMR
  • 55Benchmark controls
Inclusion
  • Major upper-extremity amputation (transradial, transhumeral, shoulder disarticulation)
  • Age ≥18 years
  • No cognitive impairment
Exclusion
  • Age <18 years or cognitive impairment
  • Recurrent oncologic disease at surgical site
  • Participation in neuromodulator medication study
Follow-up
Mean 23.1 months (range 6–65 months)
Statistics
Mann-Whitney U testChi-square testFisher exact testPower analysis

Key Findings

  • Early TMR more than doubled the proportion of patients free of phantom limb pain: 62% of early TMR patients reported no PLP versus 24% of controls (P < .05). Zero early TMR patients reported severe PLP, compared to 34% of controls — meaning the procedure appears to abolish the most disabling end of the pain spectrum entirely.
  • PROMIS phantom limb pain intensity was substantially lower in early TMR patients: median t-score 33.5 vs 46.8 in controls (P < .05). A PROMIS score of 50 is the US population mean, so controls were already above average for pain burden while early TMR patients scored well below it.
  • 50% of early TMR patients were free of residual limb pain versus 36% of controls. PROMIS RLP intensity followed the same pattern (33.5 vs 46.8, P < .05). The smaller effect on RLP compared to PLP likely reflects that non-neural sources of stump pain. Bony prominences, heterotopic ossification, bursitis. Are not addressed by TMR.
  • PLP pain behaviors were significantly lower in early TMR patients on PROMIS scoring (50.1 vs 53.1, P < .05). Pain interference trended lower (40.7 vs 50) but did not reach significance (P = .31). The authors attribute this to insufficient power from the small TMR cohort, noting the absolute difference exceeds published minimally important thresholds.
  • NRS scores for phantom limb pain at worst, best, and current were all significantly lower in early TMR patients (all P < .05). Median worst PLP NRS was 0 in early TMR versus 4 in controls. A 4-point difference that exceeds the 2-point threshold established as clinically meaningful for chronic pain.
  • 13 of 16 early TMR patients (81%) were weaned from narcotics at last follow-up (mean 23.1 months). No comparative narcotic data were collected from controls, so this finding is descriptive only. But it sets a benchmark for what opioid-free outcomes look like after early TMR.
Board PearlPerforming TMR at the time of amputation eliminates severe phantom limb pain entirely and doubles the proportion of patients who are pain-free.

Clinical Relevance

TMR was originally developed for prosthetic control, and its analgesic benefit was recognized only after patients undergoing delayed TMR reported dramatic neuroma pain relief. The question this paper addresses is whether moving TMR to the index amputation prevents pain from developing at all, rather than treating it after the fact.

When you are planning a major upper-extremity amputation, identify and tag the major mixed and sensory peripheral nerves during the dissection. Coapt them to redundant motor branches end-to-end using 9-0 nylon epineural sutures under loupe magnification. Motor nerves are left untreated — they do not form symptomatic neuromas.

The payoff: more than doubling the chance the patient wakes up from amputation without phantom limb pain, and eliminating severe PLP entirely in this cohort. That outcome ordinarily requires a second operation.

The authors caution that early TMR does not address non-neural stump pain sources. Bony prominences, heterotopic ossification, bursitis. So patients can still develop significant residual limb pain through mechanisms this technique cannot prevent.

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|

Targeted Muscle Reinnervation at the Time of Upper-Extremity Amputation for the Treatment of Pain Severity and Symptoms

·J Hand Surg Am·2020·83 citations·Hand & Upper
DOI·PubMed
SummaryAbstract on PubMed →

This retrospective study asks whether performing targeted muscle reinnervation at the time of major upper-extremity amputation reduces phantom and residual limb pain. Sixteen early TMR patients were compared against 55 benchmark amputees without TMR using NRS and PROMIS pain scores. It tests whether a single index operation can prophylactically prevent the pain syndromes that ordinarily require a second procedure to treat.

Study Snapshot

Design
Retrospective cohort study
Setting: Two academic medical centers (Ohio State, Northwestern)
Funding: None disclosed
Objective
Whether TMR performed at the time of amputation reduces PLP and RLP severity in upper-extremity amputees.
Outcome(s)
NRS and PROMIS pain intensity, behavior, and interference scores for PLP and RLP
Subjects
71 patients
  • 16Early TMR
  • 55Benchmark controls
Inclusion
  • Major upper-extremity amputation (transradial, transhumeral, shoulder disarticulation)
  • Age ≥18 years
  • No cognitive impairment
Exclusion
  • Age <18 years or cognitive impairment
  • Recurrent oncologic disease at surgical site
  • Participation in neuromodulator medication study
Follow-up
Mean 23.1 months (range 6–65 months)
Statistics
Mann-Whitney U testChi-square testFisher exact testPower analysis

Key Findings

  • Early TMR more than doubled the proportion of patients free of phantom limb pain: 62% of early TMR patients reported no PLP versus 24% of controls (P < .05). Zero early TMR patients reported severe PLP, compared to 34% of controls — meaning the procedure appears to abolish the most disabling end of the pain spectrum entirely.
  • PROMIS phantom limb pain intensity was substantially lower in early TMR patients: median t-score 33.5 vs 46.8 in controls (P < .05). A PROMIS score of 50 is the US population mean, so controls were already above average for pain burden while early TMR patients scored well below it.
  • 50% of early TMR patients were free of residual limb pain versus 36% of controls. PROMIS RLP intensity followed the same pattern (33.5 vs 46.8, P < .05). The smaller effect on RLP compared to PLP likely reflects that non-neural sources of stump pain. Bony prominences, heterotopic ossification, bursitis. Are not addressed by TMR.
  • PLP pain behaviors were significantly lower in early TMR patients on PROMIS scoring (50.1 vs 53.1, P < .05). Pain interference trended lower (40.7 vs 50) but did not reach significance (P = .31). The authors attribute this to insufficient power from the small TMR cohort, noting the absolute difference exceeds published minimally important thresholds.
  • NRS scores for phantom limb pain at worst, best, and current were all significantly lower in early TMR patients (all P < .05). Median worst PLP NRS was 0 in early TMR versus 4 in controls. A 4-point difference that exceeds the 2-point threshold established as clinically meaningful for chronic pain.
  • 13 of 16 early TMR patients (81%) were weaned from narcotics at last follow-up (mean 23.1 months). No comparative narcotic data were collected from controls, so this finding is descriptive only. But it sets a benchmark for what opioid-free outcomes look like after early TMR.
Board PearlPerforming TMR at the time of amputation eliminates severe phantom limb pain entirely and doubles the proportion of patients who are pain-free.

Clinical Relevance

TMR was originally developed for prosthetic control, and its analgesic benefit was recognized only after patients undergoing delayed TMR reported dramatic neuroma pain relief. The question this paper addresses is whether moving TMR to the index amputation prevents pain from developing at all, rather than treating it after the fact.

When you are planning a major upper-extremity amputation, identify and tag the major mixed and sensory peripheral nerves during the dissection. Coapt them to redundant motor branches end-to-end using 9-0 nylon epineural sutures under loupe magnification. Motor nerves are left untreated — they do not form symptomatic neuromas.

The payoff: more than doubling the chance the patient wakes up from amputation without phantom limb pain, and eliminating severe PLP entirely in this cohort. That outcome ordinarily requires a second operation.

The authors caution that early TMR does not address non-neural stump pain sources. Bony prominences, heterotopic ossification, bursitis. So patients can still develop significant residual limb pain through mechanisms this technique cannot prevent.

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