Hoping for therapy

Hand is broken after birthday firecracker accident

Firecrackers and rockets that are regularly sold in our country are relatively safe. This year, however, 637 kilos of illegal pyrotechnics were confiscated at the border in Upper Austria.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

18-year-old must pay bitterly for playing with powder in Seewalchen. His hand is no longer usable as such after the accident on his birthday. Now he has to hope for replantation and therapy. And there was already a second firecracker victim before the turn of the year - a 16-year-old. 

The injuries suffered by a young man from Seewalchen one day before his 18th birthday from a homemade firecracker are worse than expected. His left hand is de facto no longer usable as such after an explosive device apparently detonated prematurely on Saturday evening. Part of the handball had been blown out and was lying on the street. Microsurgeons treated the wound at the trauma hospital in Linz. "The problem with injuries caused by pyrotechnic objects, apart from the tears and burns, is that splinters and foreign substances penetrate the tissue," explains Georg Mattiassich, who has been the official head of the trauma hospital since the turn of the year.

Fingers present, but hand severely affected
This apparently also led to the 18-year-old from Seewalchen suffering severe long-term consequences from the obvious flesh wound. In other words, he can no longer use his left hand in the way he is used to, even though he still has fingers. The doctors hope that through replantation, reconstruction, possibly prosthetics and therapies, the hand's abilities can be restored to such an extent that it can be used in the best possible way.

Stray firecracker seriously injures 16-year-old
Serious injuries are unfortunately the rule around New Year's Eve and a 16-year-old boy was also "shot into hospital" in nearby Amstetten. He is said to have been injured by a thrown firecracker or a stray rocket. According to his own account, he was out with friends when it made a splash next to his left hand. He then suffered burns and injuries to his left armpit and hand, and the last phalanx of his left index finger was so badly damaged that it could not be saved. The police are now trying to find out who was to blame for the serious accident and who is liable.