Posted on 09/18/2002 10:34:37 AM PDT by dead
A man has undergone microsurgery to try and reattach his little finger, penis, scrotum and left hand - all which he cut off in an alleged drug-induced act of self-mutilation.
Police said the man was believed to be high on amphetamines. He attacked himself with a large kitchen carving knife during an argument with his wife at a home in the northern NSW town of Inverell.
The bizarre act of self-mutilation was witnessed by two ambulance officers who were called to the home at 2.30pm on Tuesday by the distraught woman after the man, aged 38, initially cut off the little finger on his right hand. Inverell police Inspector Dave Harrington said when ambulance officers arrived at the home, the woman ran from the house followed by the man, who was still armed with the knife.
The man then cut off his scrotum and penis before lopping off his left hand at the wrist-joint, just as Inspector Harrington and six other police officers arrived at the scene.
It took all seven officers to hold the man down while the ambulance officers applied pressure bandages to stem the bleeding.
Inspector Harrington said that had the ambulance officers not been on hand the man might have died from massive blood loss. "It is one of the worst things I've seen in 16 years," Inspector Harrington said. "Police have reason to believe he was affected by amphetamines at the time.
"The man was taken under police restraint by ambulance to the small Inverell Base Hospital, where two local doctors performed emergency surgery while they awaited the arrival of an Air Ambulance plane and a physician with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service."
Inspector Harrington said officers recovered the severed body parts, which were later packed in ice in the hope they could be reattached with microsurgery.
The body parts accompanied the heavily sedated man on the Air Ambulance flight back to Sydney on Tuesday night.
On arrival at 10.30pm, the man was transferred to St George Hospital, where he underwent further surgery.
The hospital yesterday refused to reveal whether attempts to reattach the man's body parts were successful. However, the hospital did say that after the microsurgery the man was in a critical but stable condition.
Inspector Harrington said it had been a traumatic experience for ambulance and police officers involved.
"They [the police officers] have received some counselling today in relation to the incident," he said.
If you want on or off this list, please let me know!
This has come about after much badgering by you, my friends and extended family...
I don't have any problems with him attempting to remove any possibility of having progeny ... do you?
Supposing that you do, what would you prefer? That we criminalize the act of self-mutilation, or knife ownership generally? Or what?
I mean, if the effect of the drugs was to reliably induce self-mutilation, I'd have no problem. Unfortunately, I've had to deal with people who were into other-mutilation courtesy of a bad trip. Not fun at all.
It's a really nasty drug, though, from what I hear.
You know, amidst all the jokes on this thread, there is one well thought out comment.........
I thought her priests were only required to cut off...well, you know. Not their hands or fingers.
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