Camilla Jessen
A neurosurgeon has been arrested.
Austrian neurosurgeon accused of allowing her child to assist during brain operation on injured man
An incident in Austrian hospital
A neurosurgeon in Austria has been arrested after allegedly allowing her 12-year-old daughter to use a surgical drill during a brain operation on a 33-year-old patient suffering from a traumatic head injury.
The incident occurred on January 13, 2024, at Graz Regional Hospital, where the man had been rushed following a serious accident.
A trainee’s daughter
According to Mirror, prosecutors say the surgeon — a trainee neurosurgeon — brought her daughter into the operating room and allowed her to participate in the procedure.
“An incredible lack of respect for the patient”
According to prosecutor Julia Steiner, the doctor handed the drill to her daughter near the end of the operation, allowing her to make a hole in the patient’s skull for a probe.
“The act shows an incredible lack of respect for the patient,” Steiner told Austrian outlet Kurier, adding that the potential danger “cannot be downplayed.”
She said the surgeon later boasted that her daughter had just performed her “first gynecological hysterectomy,” apparently confusing the procedures in a joking remark.
Defense disputes the claims
The surgeon’s lawyer, Bernhard Lehofer, denied that the girl had independently drilled into the patient’s skull.
“The child did not drill,” Lehofer said, acknowledging that bringing her daughter into the operating room was “not a good idea,” but insisting the supervising doctor kept full control of the drill.
The assisting physician’s attorney, Michael Kropiunig, also argued that the child merely placed her hand over his while he guided the instrument, claiming this “is not relevant in criminal proceedings.”
Inside the operating room
Court testimony revealed that the supervising doctor allowed the girl to “help” after she asked if she could assist. He reportedly obtained verbal permission from her mother before letting the child hold his hand as he operated the drill.
The surgeon said her daughter had been studying in an office near the surgical ward and wanted to watch the procedure.
“I allowed her to observe, but I was distracted,” she told the court, claiming she did not see the exact moment the drilling occurred.
Effort to cover up the incident
When anonymous complaints later surfaced, the surgeon allegedly urged her colleague to stay silent.
“I wanted to protect him,” she reportedly said when asked about the cover-up attempt.
The hospital’s head of neurosurgery, Dr. Stefan Wolfsberger, said he was alerted through an anonymous letter.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he told Kurier.
Legal proceedings underway
Both the neurosurgeon and the assisting doctor appeared before the Graz-East District Court on Tuesday, where they pleaded not guilty to minor bodily harm.
The court has postponed the case until December 10, when medical experts will testify about the potential risks posed to the patient, who survived the operation without apparent complications.
Broader implications for medical ethics
The case has shocked Austria’s medical community, raising serious questions about hospital oversight, patient consent, and ethical conduct in teaching environments.
Authorities say the investigation will determine whether the doctors’ actions amounted to criminal negligence or a breach of professional conduct codes.
This article is made and published by Camilla Jessen, which may have used AI in the preparation
