Brain surgeon ‘let 12-year-old daughter drill hole in patient’s skull’ | World | News
An Austrian neurosurgeon has denied allowing his 12-year-old daughter to drill a hole into a patient’s skull during emergency surgery.
The incident allegedly occurred in January 2024 in the southeastern Austrian state of Styria, where a mother allegedly allowed herself to assist in brain surgery on a farm worker whose head was hit by a falling tree branch.
It was claimed that the surgeon, whose identity was not disclosed to the public, allowed his daughter to drill into the man’s skull because he was interested in medicine.
According to The Kronen Zeitung, Prosecutor Julia Steiner said: “He took the twelve-year-old girl into the operating room, where he drilled a hole in the exposed skull cap, alone and without assistance. The defendant explained the function of the drilling device beforehand, according to The Kronen Zeitung.”
However, the woman denied allegations that her daughter helped with the operation, but agreed to let her “go to the operating table”, which she told the court was her “biggest mistake”. Express USA.
Nurses at Graz University Hospital, where the incident occurred, observed the woman bragging about her child’s involvement in the operation. The woman later described this claim as a lie stemming from “stupid maternal pride”.
An unnamed assistant colleague of the surgeon admitted that the girl helped him drill the hole, but maintained that he was “in control of the tool at all times”. Reports suggest that the mother at one point handed over the procedure to the assistant surgeon and walked away from the table to take a phone call.
There are conflicting accounts of which surgeons allowed the girl to participate in the operation.
His junior colleague expressed surprise when asked if the girl could take part in the procedure, but did not refuse, admitting it was a “big mistake” under the impression that the senior surgeon had given his approval.
“You take pride in taking good care of the patient, but you just [realise] “A morally and ethically unacceptable mistake had been made,” the junior surgeon later admitted in court.
Both surgeons were later dismissed. According to Judge Gundula Neudeck, the mother’s “biggest mistake was probably taking him there; a child has no business there.”
If the court decides that the 12-year-old did indeed participate in the procedure, both surgeons could face convictions for causing bodily harm by allowing an untrained person to treat a patient; this is a crime that usually carries a prison sentence of up to one year or a fine.
Steiner criticized the incident, stating that it showed “incredible disrespect towards the patient”.
“What would have happened if the drill had malfunctioned and not automatically charged after breaking the skull bone?” he asked.
The victim’s lawyer, Peter Freiberger, said his client discovered the case online and was later informed that he was the victim. The lawyer stated that as of last August, his client had not yet received an apology.
“You lie there. You become unwilling, unconscious and a guinea pig,” Freiberger told local media. “There’s probably no other way to put it… It’s not possible. You can’t do this.”
While the young woman refused to testify in court, the 33-year-old male victim could not attend the hearing due to illness.
The hospital’s chief of neurosurgery also expressed regret and told the court: “This is terrible.
“The case is known all over the world, people from every continent are talking to me about it,” he said. “Our neurosurgery has such a high reputation. Patients are scared of it now, but it’s our goddamn duty to respect our patients.”
The case was postponed to December 10.
