Farzad Salehpour
1* 
, Salar Doozchizade
2, James Carroll
3, Karen Carroll
3, Ali Reza Shafiee-Kandjani
2* 1 THOR Photomedicine Inc, Millersville, MD, USA
2 Research Center of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
3 THOR Photomedicine Ltd, Amersham, UK
Abstract
Chronic post-amputation pain is associated with significant psychological distress, reduced quality of life, and depressive symptoms. Photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy relieves pain and reduces inflammation. We report a 49-year-old male with chronic post-amputation pain who presented with depressive mood, suicidal ideation, and functional disability despite prior pharmacological treatment and electroconvulsive therapy. PBM was applied using an 810 nm laser (1 W, 200 mW/cm²) once daily for five days. Each session combined transcranial PBM, targeting the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and proximal PBM applied sequentially to nine anatomical sites, including the residual limb, brachial plexus, stellate ganglia, and cervical spine. Pain, measured by the Visual Analog Scale, decreased by 50% after the fifth session and by 63% at four-week follow-up, with complete resolution at six months. Burning sensation scores decreased by 44%, 67%, and 80% across follow-up assessments, and the patient reported improvement in mood to a euthymic state at six months.