Beta Adrenergic Blockade and the Phantom Limb

Excerpt

To the editor: My patient was 74 years old when first seen in 1958. He had reached the peak of the legal profession in his province and was an active naturalist and sportsman. A year previously he had been involved in a minor accident and from that date on had suffered mild but typical angina. His electrocardiogram indicated previous inferior wall infarction.

At 12 years of age an accidental shotgun blast led to amputation of the right arm, which left him with a 3-in. stump at the shoulder. From that date he suffered spasmodic, severe phantom-limb pain. He has been