Severe pediatric burn injuries following a social media trend involving a microwaved toy: A case report and warning

TY - JOUR

T1 - Severe pediatric burn injuries following a social media trend involving a microwaved toy

T2 - A case report and warning

AU - Bonner, Rory

AU - Munro, Kirsty J.G.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

PY - 2026/3/26

Y1 - 2026/3/26

N2 - We present a case report of a 10-year-old girl who sustained significant facial burns after microwaving a frozen stress ball; just one example of a “trend” which quickly gained popularity without disclaiming the harmful risks. The management and outcome of a significant contact burn linked to an uncensored online activity is described, highlighting important considerations of facial burn management and discussing the broader implications for pediatric safety in the ever-evolving digital age.

AB - We present a case report of a 10-year-old girl who sustained significant facial burns after microwaving a frozen stress ball; just one example of a “trend” which quickly gained popularity without disclaiming the harmful risks. The management and outcome of a significant contact burn linked to an uncensored online activity is described, highlighting important considerations of facial burn management and discussing the broader implications for pediatric safety in the ever-evolving digital age.

KW - Facial burn

KW - Pediatric burn

KW - Safeguarding

KW - Social media

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105037471798

U2 - 10.1016/j.jpra.2026.02.017

DO - 10.1016/j.jpra.2026.02.017

M3 - Article

C2 - 42099753

AN - SCOPUS:105037471798

SN - 2352-5878

VL - 50

SP - 84

EP - 90

JO - JPRAS Open

JF - JPRAS Open

ER -