A brain surgeon has been arrested on suspicion of allowing her 12-year-old daughter to “drill” into an unsuspecting patient’s head during surgery.
On January 13 last year, a man who had suffered a traumatic brain injury in a forestry accident was rushed to Graz Regional Hospital in Austria for emergency life-saving surgery.
Although the operation itself was successful, reports allege that before it was completed, a neurosurgeon in training allowed her young daughter to take part in the cranial procedure.
The Graz-East District Court heard on Tuesday (October 14) that the surgery had been performed by a doctor and a senior physician while the neurosurgeon, still in training, was present in the operating room with her child.
According to the indictment, the mother allegedly handed her daughter a medical drill and let her create a hole in the patient’s skull to insert a probe. Prosecutor Julia Steiner stated that the neurosurgeon even proudly announced afterward that her daughter had just “drilled her first borehole,” as reported by the local outlet Kurier.
While the operation itself went smoothly, the indictment emphasized that “the risk cannot be downplayed.” Steiner described the act as showing an “incredible lack of respect for the patient.”
Both the doctor and the neurosurgeon pleaded not guilty to minor bodily harm charges.
The surgeon’s attorney, Bernhard Lehofer, defended his client, claiming the child had not actually performed the drilling. “The child did not drill,” he said, insisting that the doctor maintained full control of the equipment. Lehofer admitted that bringing the child into surgery “was not a good idea,” but added that his client had been paying for that mistake for nearly two years.
Attorney Michael Kropiunig, representing the doctor also implicated in the case, argued that his client had been unaware of the child’s age. “He allowed her to put her hand on his hand while he was operating the drill, but that’s not relevant in criminal proceedings,” Kropiunig said, according to Kurier.
As for how the situation unfolded, the doctor recounted that near the end of the operation, his colleague—the neurosurgeon—had stepped out to take a phone call. During that time, the child reportedly asked him, “May I help?” When he asked her mother, she allegedly replied, “Why not?”
The court heard that although the doctor could not recall the exact position of the child’s hand, she had placed it on top of his as he guided the drill.
The mother is also accused of persuading her colleague to “deny” any questions about the incident.
She later told the court that her daughter had been studying in her office for most of the day but had followed her into the operating room when she was called in. The neurosurgeon said she had allowed it but denied seeing the alleged drilling, claiming she had been standing “at the back” of the room and was “distracted.”
When prosecutor Steiner asked whether she had “put pressure” on the doctor “to keep quiet,” the neurosurgeon reportedly responded, “I wanted to protect him.”
Investigators also believe the mother told hospital staff that her daughter had only participated in “just drilling” when questions arose during the inquiry.
Stefan Wolfsberger, the head of neurosurgery at the hospital, said he learned about the incident after receiving an anonymous letter and “couldn’t believe it.”
The court has postponed its verdict until December 10.
Source: unilad.com, kurier.at