Surgeon fired after allegedly allowing teenage daughter to drill hole in patient's skull

A surgeon has been accused of allowing his 13-year-old daughter to drill a hole into a patient's skull during an emergency operation.

Earlier this year on January 13, a man was involved in a forestry accident and was rushed to Graz University Hospital in Austria via air ambulance.

Once at hospital, the patient was rushed into emergency surgery at around 2.45pm, however, his skull was reportedly operated on not by a medical professional, but a neurosurgeon's teenage daughter.

Surgeons can resolve to drilling a hole in a patient's skull for multiple reasons.

If a head injury or trauma has occurred and caused fluid or blood to build up in the brain and put pressure on tissue, drilling a hole can help drain this fluid and relieve pressure. Drilling a hole may also be an action considered if an object has ended up lodged in the skull.

It's not stated why the patient required emergency surgery and while the incident took place in January, it wasn't until April 26 when an anonymous complaint was submitted to Graz's prosecutor's office that an investigation was eventually launched, local media outlet Kronen Zeitung reports.

On May 25, the doctors involved in the operation - reported by Sky News as being the neurosurgeon and one other employee - were dismissed without notice.

And it was only two months after that on July 8 when the patient themselves realized what had happened - allegedly finding out from media reports - after not being able to remember anything at the time.

The patient required emergency surgery (Getty Stock Images/ Arctic Images)

The patient survived the operation, however, Kronen Zeitung reports they were in intensive care for the following 11 days and remain unable to work.

The patient's lawyer, Peter Freiberger, is now suing for damages.

Freiberger said: "You lie there. Unwilling, unconscious, and become guinea pigs. There's probably no other way to put it... that's not possible. You can't do that.

"There was no contact, no explanation or apology, nothing. That is simply undignified."

Trauma surgery specialist Manfred Bogner emphasized to Sky News 'a child' should never be 'given a drill and allowed to drill away at the bone of a seriously injured person,' adding he doesn't 'understand' how such an incident was ever allowed to happen.

He resolved: "An operating theatre belongs to people who have a job to do there and no one else."

A spokesperson from Graz University Hospital told UNILAD: "On May 21, 2024, the Graz Public Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation against the surgeon concerned, her daughter and the other members of the surgical team based on an anonymous tip-off. Since May 29, 2024, an (internal) statement from an employee has been available that does not correspond to the statements of the members of the surgical team who had previously been questioned as part of an internal investigation. As a result, the senior surgeon overseeing the surgery and the surgeon who performed the operation were suspended from duty with immediate effect.

"The Public Prosecutor's investigation found the allegations made to be plausible; although as yet there is no concrete evidence that the daughter herself took actual part in the operation. Since the trust required by the employer was no longer present, the surgeon primarily responsible for the operation was dismissed on July 25, 2024.

"The investigation by the Graz Public Prosecutor's Office into the entire surgical team present during the surgery is ongoing. Those surgical staff have received official warnings and have been advised that further disciplinary actions and criminal charges could yet arise from the investigation and potential criminal proceedings.

"No contact with the patient has been made by the hospital, as the patient joined the criminal proceedings as a private party and is therefore a party to the proceedings. The operation itself was completed without complications.

"The hospital’s management would like to express its utmost regret and extend its sincere apologies for this incident and is working to fully clarify the matter."