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Man's horror firecracker injuries
By MEGAN LEVY
AN horrific firecracker accident which left an Illawarra man incontinent and unable to have sex has prompted warnings from police and health authorities.
The 26-year-old man suffered a fractured pelvis and severe burns to his genital area after a firecracker exploded between the cheeks of his buttocks.
An ambulance was called to Dapto's Reed Park about 2.30am on August 10 after reports that the man was haemorrhaging from the buttocks. He was transported to Wollongong Hospital in a serious but stable condition, and he is expected to remain in hospital for several months.
The man suffered extensive injuries from the explosion and required emergency surgery. He now has a colostomy and a catheter, and is sexually dysfunctional.
He will be assessed by a colorectal surgeon to determine whether his injuries can be corrected.
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Illawarra Health emergency surgeon Dr Robert McCurdie, who operated on the man when he was taken to Wollongong Hospital, likened the man's condition to "a war injury".
Dr McCurdie said he believed the man had stumbled while the firecracker was in his buttocks, and fell down on it.
"By virtue of the fact that the explosion was confined in an upward direction, it went up into his pelvis, blasted a great hole in the pelvis, ruptured the urethra, injured muscles in the floor of the pelvis which rendered him incontinent.
"His pelvis was also fractured," Dr McCurdie said.
He said he had never seen a similar injury to the genital area before.
"I have seen instances ... where people have tried to remove items from their rectum and rupture the sphincter muscles, but not anything like this," he said.
It is not known whether the man had been imitating the cult prankster film Jackass, a hit in the United States.
In the low-budget film, the men place firecrackers in their buttocks and they shoot into the air.
They also stick toy cars up their buttocks, snort wasabi and apply electrical muscle stimulators to their genitals.
The movie carries a warning not to imitate the actions.
Dr McCurdie said young people were particularly susceptible to imitating movies like Jackass.
"I think films like that can influence people, particularly younger people," he said.
"Firecrackers really are quite dangerous. In years gone by, firecrackers were in common usage and people were always warned about how to use them. Now the authorities have taken over and public displays are common."
Acting Senior Sergeant John Klepczarek said police received reports every year about injuries caused by firecrackers, which are illegal in NSW.
While some injuries were minor, he said in some cases people received severe burns and fingers had been lost.
"The warnings are out there for a reason. People still have the mentality it won't happen to them, but it does," he said.
The danger with movies like Jackass, he said, was that some people were tempted to try the stunts at home.
"They're putting themselves at risk, and other people.
"We do caution people strongly against following these acts," he said.
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