A burn at the return electrode site is an iatrogenic disease that can occur during surgery. Moreover, it has recently been observed to occur even in the community setting, because of the growing interest in alternative medicine and the diversification of treatment equipment. We report a case of a deep burn after diathermy therapy. A 15-year-old female patient suffered a deep burn due to contact with the return electrode during diathermy therapy at an osteopathic clinic. After autolytic and surgical debridement, reconstruction with a local skin flap was performed. The postoperative course was favorable. Our findings suggest the need to pay attention to this issue and educate non-medical professionals, such as estheticians, about the accurate use of return electrodes.
