Surgeon let '13-year-old daughter drill hole in patient's skull'

An Austrian surgeon has been sacked and is facing a criminal investigation after they allegedly allowed their 13-year-old daughter drill a hole into a patient's skull while they were performing an emergency procedure.

The medic, who has not been identified, has found themselves at the centre of the bizarre surgery scandal after the man who underwent the operation discovered what had gone down in the surgical suite at the Graz University Hospital.

The 33-year-old patient was rushed to the facility in Styria, southeastern Austria - which is one of the largest hospitals in the country - on 13 January this year via air ambulance after being involved in a forestry accident.

An Austrian surgeon allegedly let their 13-year-old child take part in an emergency surgery. (Getty Stock Image)

According to local newspaper Kronen Zeitung, the man had suffered serious head injuries.

He was taken into emergency surgery at around 2.45pm, however, it has been reported that the neurosurgeon performing the procedure allowed their teenage daughter to get involved and assist with the surgery.

According to reports, the 13-year-old even shockingly drilled a hole into his skull.

Although the full details of the patient's condition have not been disclosed, this procedure may be performed for a number of reasons by medics... just never usually by a child.

For example, it may be required if a person has sustained a serious head injury or trauma which has caused fluid or blood to build up in the brain, placing pressure on tissue.

Drilling a hole can therefore help drain this fluid and relieve the pressure. It could also be a treatment option for someone who has perhaps had an object lodged into their skull.

The teenager allegedly drilled a hole into the patient's skull. (Getty Stock Photo)

Despite the surgery taking place in January, the teenager's alleged involvement in it only came to light on 26 April when an anonymous complaint was submitted to Graz's prosecutor's office.

An investigation was subsequently launched, Kronen Zeitung reports, but the patient himself only found out what had happened in July of this year after reportedly realising media reports regarding the case were about him.

Police are then said to have officially informed him about the ongoing investigation into the circumstances of his operation.

He survived the operation but was in intensive care for 11 days after it and he still remains unable to work.

The surgeons involved in the operation - including the neurosurgeon who allegedly outsourced the work to their daughter and another specialist who was present at the time - were reportedly dismissed by the hospital without notice.

The patient's lawyer, Peter Freiberger, is now suing for damages and slammed the surgeon for treating the man like a 'guinea pig' while he was in a vulnerable position.

He said of the case: "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."

Freiberger claimed that the hospital had not been in touch with the man in wake of the revelations either.

A criminal investigation is reportedly underway into the surgery scandal in the city of Graz (Getty Stock Photo)

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

Trauma surgery specialist Manfred Bogner told Sky News that the 13-year-old had no place inside of an operating theatre and certainly should not have been wielding surgical equipment.

He said he 'didn't understand' how the alleged incident took place, adding: "An operating theatre belongs to people who have a job to do there and no one else. And a child should not be given a drill and allowed to drill away at the bone of a seriously injured person."

Graz Public Prosecutor Hansjoerg Bacher confirmed that the neurosurgeon and another doctor were let go by the hospital, the Daily Mail reports.

According to the publication, both of them - as well as five others involved in the operation - are now under investigation for serious bodily harm.

Bacher was quoted as saying: "We are currently still waiting for the final report from the criminal investigation department."

LADbible has contacted Graz University Hospital for comment.