Abstract
Introduction
The art of pyrography, creating designs in wood with a thermal heat source, dates back to prehistory. Risks include cutaneous burns and airway injury. Fractal woodburning is a niche method of pyrography utilizing a high-voltage electrical source to burn branched designs – Lichtenberg patterns – into the surface of wood. While this technique has grown in popularity, the associated risks are not well described.
Methods
We describe a patient who presented to our burn center after sustaining high-voltage electrical burns from a homemade high-voltage device constructed for fractal woodburning. We also evaluated publicly reported cases of death or injury due to this technique.
Results
An otherwise healthy 17-year-old male was admitted to our burn center with injuries sustained while making fractal wood art. The patient improvised a high-voltage transformer from a discarded microwave, generating 2000 volts from household current. While using this device to burn Lichtenberg patterns in wood, he contacted the electrodes and sustained full-thickness electrical burns to the neck, chest, and bilateral upper extremities. Bilateral upper extremity fasciotomies were required on admission. Multiple subsequent operative procedures culminated with autografting to the majority of the wounds and ongoing complex reconstruction of the left thumb.
In evaluating online news reports, we found 21 unique individuals with death or injury attributed to fractal woodburning. Four sustained substantial injuries, while 17 reportedly died. The first reported incident occurred in July 2016 and the most recent report was from July 2019. Ages ranged from 17 years old to the 60s. Eighteen individuals were younger than 50 years old. All of the mortalities and 3 of the 4 injuries occurred in males. Of the survivors, 3 sustained significant upper extremity injuries and 2 suffered cardiac arrest at the time of injury. The devices used in 4 incidents were microwave transformers and generated 2000 volts. Device characteristics were not identified in the remainder of cases.
Conclusions
Fractal woodburning is associated with devastating high-voltage electrical injuries and death. Prevention efforts should be focused on the potential risks of this art form.
Applicability of Research to Practice
News reports likely underestimate the actual incidence of injury and death due to fractal woodburning, however, even this limited data suggests an emerging public health problem requiring further study and public education.