Man Became Convinced His Limb Was Not Really His, Exposing a Bizarre Disturbance of Body Awareness

A 50-year-old man was described by clinicians at the University of Bristol and North Bristol NHS Trust as meeting new diagnostic criteria for body integrity dysphoria in a case report published in August 2025. The patient long felt his leg was not truly his, and after discussions in an online forum he caused himself dry-ice burns. The resulting injury required a below-knee amputation. The authors say this may be among the first published applications of ICD-11 criteria for the condition, now coded 6C21, which recognizes a persistent desire to become physically disabled with early-onset and harmful consequences. They note the patient was satisfied with the outcome.