Surgeons support late-night violence crackdown in Adelaide licensed venues Dr Yugesh Caplash holds facial scans of a patient whose face was severely injured in a fight. RECONSTRUCTIVE surgeon Dr Yugesh Caplash is regularly confronted with the ugly face of late-night alcohol-fuelled violence. Here, he surveys the damage done by multiple kicks to the head of a drunk 22-year-old man who arrived at the Royal Adelaide Hospital about 2.30am. It took up to five hours to put his face back together with titanium plates after the attack. These are the kinds of injuries it is hoped will be prevented by a new late-night code of practice for pubs and clubs which came into effect overnight. The code introduces a lockout preventing patrons from entering licensed venues after 3am . It also prohibits selling shots or drinks with more than 30ml of alcohol or supplying free or discounted liquor after 4am. Venues will have to serve drinks in plastic drinkware from 4am. Dr Caplash, who has more than two decades" experience in facial fracture surgery, directs the plastic and reconstructive surgery department at the RAH. He is part of a team of doctors which sees up to 500 facial fracture cases a year - about half of which are injuries to people who are drunk, assaulted by a drunk or hurt at a venue where alcohol is present. He agreed changes to licensing conditions late at night were needed. "I think everyone in our speciality actually supports that," he said. The scans Dr Caplash showed to The Advertiser reveal a fractured eye socket and a jaw broken in two places. "This kind of assault you will get in the early hours of the morning ... blood alcohol level of 0.18, multiple kicks to the head and that's what you find," he said. First of all we had to let him settle down, get his alcohol level down (and the) swelling to settle. That usually takes up to three or four days. After that he has surgery which can be, in this case, about four to five hours of operating. Dr Caplash said most patients with alcohol-related injuries were males, some aged up to their early 40s. Such injuries were most common between Thursday night and Monday morning. The new code applies to all venues operating past 3am. However, the Adelaide Casino is exempt from the lockout. This Sunday morning the lockout will apply from 4am in a once-off to account for daylight savings. Attorney-General John Rau said the latest violent assault in Hindley St early last Sunday morning "should be enough to convince people that serious measures are required" to tackle alcohol-fuelled violence. Under the code, venues with a capacity of more than 200 people will have to operate CCTV cameras during opening hours and keep a copy of recordings for 28 days. Patrons at venues that trade after 3am will not be allowed to drink on nearby streets or footpaths from 2am, except beer gardens.