Boy, 9, needed major surgery after TikTok magnet trend

Super strong magnets caused damage to Jack's abdomen that required major surgery

A mum has said her nine-year-old son is lucky to be alive after copying a viral trend that left him needing urgent abdominal surgery.

Jack Mason, from Stirling, had to have his appendix, small bowel and 30cm of his large bowel removed after he swallowed multiple tiny magnets.

A trend circulating on TikTok has seen children putting such magnets in their mouths to look like piercings.

The balls joined up inside his body causing a blockage.

Jack's mother Carolann McGeoch now wants to warn parents about the potential dangers.

She told the BBC parents should "put these magnets straight in the bin" as her son was released from hospital to start a long recovery.

Jack was taken to hospital on 7 September with abdominal pain and vomiting.

After ultrasounds, medical staff quickly sent him in an ambulance to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow where X-rays showed that something was blocking Jack's bowel.

Carolann said it was quickly discovered that the blockage was a collection of tiny magnets.

The tiny magnets joined together, causing a blockage in Jack's bowel

After "a bit of probing to get the truth", Jack admitted that he had swallowed them.

Doctors explained to Carolann that he would require surgery to remove the magnets and any damaged tissue.

"It was explained to me that the damage these magnets can cause could be so extreme that he might not pull through," she said.

"Through floods of tears I then had to sign my permission to the operation, acknowledging that 'anything could happen'."

After four hours in theatre, Jack lost his appendix, his small bowel and a significant section of his large bowel.

Eight days on from his surgery, Jack has just been allowed to go home. Now his mum wants other parents to understand the dangers.

Although he does not have a TikTok account, Jack had still seen videos shared from the platform.

"Jack is lucky to be alive," said Carolann. "If his experience can prevent other kids from enduring the same then I will do everything I can to do that."

Nine-year-old Jack has spent more than a week in hospital after surgery

Earlier this year, the NHS in England called for a ban on neodymium or "super strong" rare-earth magnets which are sold as toys, decorative items and fake piercings.

But when accidentally swallowed, the small magnetic ball bearings are forced together in the intestines or bowels, squeezing the tissue so that the blood supply is cut off.

In England, 65 children have required urgent surgery after swallowing magnets in the last three years.

'Please attend hospital'

Gregor Walker, a consultant paediatric surgeon who was involved in Jack's care, said: "We are very pleased with Jack's progress since surgery and I am grateful to all members of the team at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow for their continued hard work.

"I am also grateful for Jack's mother in highlighting this on social media. Increasing awareness is extremely important and this is another example of the hazards of swallowing magnets, which seems to have been happening more frequently over the last two years.

"In our hospital 20% of the children who swallow magnets have required a procedure, with 10% requiring major surgery.

"There is a national awareness campaign being set up through the Child Accident Prevention Trust and the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons. The important message is that if you think your child has swallowed magnets, please attend your local hospital for review."

Jack was rushed to the Royal Hospital for Children for treatment

Jack's primary school put out a warning to all its parents through the PTA.

It said: "We were really concerned when we heard one of our very own P5 pupils has been gravely ill in hospital and had to undergo serious & life changing surgery - all due to a TikTok challenge involving magnets.

"We really want to try and reach as many families as possible and we all wish Jack a speedy recovery and hope he will be back in school very soon."

'Proactive searches'

TikTok said the safety of everyone in its community was of utmost importance, especially the well-being of youth.

It said the company had added a harmful activities section to its minor safety policy to reiterate that content promoting dangerous dares, games, and other acts that may jeopardise the safety of youth was not allowed on TikTok.

A spokeswoman told the BBC: "We do not allow content that encourages, promotes, or glorifies behaviour that might lead to injury.

"Our safety team use a range of measures to keep our community safe, and we have been conducting additional proactive searches to detect content of this nature.

"While we have not yet found evidence that this is a trend, we will continue to stay vigilant and take action when necessary."