Ofure Akhigbe
Austrian prosecutors have opened the trial of a senior brain surgeon accused of allowing her 12-year-old daughter to drill a hole in a patient’s skull during emergency surgery.
The alleged incident occurred in January 2024 at the University Hospital Graz, where a male patient had been brought in with a severe head injury after being struck by a falling tree branch. During the operation, doctors were required to insert a probe to monitor intracranial pressure — a procedure involving the drilling of a small hole into the skull.
Prosecutors claim the senior surgeon permitted her daughter, who was present out of interest in medicine, to handle the drill and perform the procedure. Witnesses, including an anesthetist, reported seeing the girl’s hands on the instrument during surgery.
The surgeon, whose name has not been publicly released, denied that her daughter carried out the drilling independently, maintaining that a junior doctor retained full control of the tool. She, however, admitted that allowing her child near the operating table was a “serious mistake,” describing her earlier boast about the incident as “bloody stupid maternal pride.”
Both the senior and junior surgeons were dismissed following an internal investigation by the hospital.
If convicted, the pair could face up to one year in prison or a fine for causing bodily harm by allowing an unqualified person to participate in a medical procedure.
The case has been adjourned until December 10, 2025, for continuation of the hearing.