
An Austrian doctor is denying allegations she allowed her daughter to drill a hole in a patient鈥檚 head.
In January 2024, the mother allegedly let her 12-year-old assist with a brain surgery in Styria, southeastern Austria, the Telegraph reports.
The local court heard this week how the daughter pleaded to be allowed to scrub in as University Hospital Graz surgeons operated on a farm worker.
After successfully treating the man鈥檚 serious head trauma, the medical professional allegedly encouraged the girl to help assess his levels of intracranial pressure.
The senior surgeon then boasted to nurses her daughter had drilled her first hole, a comment she later claimed was a lie borne of her 鈥渂loody stupid maternal pride鈥.
She told the court her 鈥渂iggest mistake was letting her go to the operating table鈥.
But the woman鈥檚 junior colleague admitted the girl helped him drill the hole - although he said he was 鈥渁lways in control鈥 of the tool.
鈥淵ou are proud that you have taken good care of the patient, but you only realise later that a mistake has been made that is morally and ethically unacceptable鈥, he emotionally told the court.
Prosecutor Julia Steiner said the incident showed 鈥渋ncredible disrespect towards the patient鈥.
鈥淲hat would have happened if the drill had been defective and had not stopped automatically after breaking through the skull bone?鈥
By August of that year, the victim鈥檚 lawyer Peter Freiberger said the man still had not been apologised to, according to Sky 九一星空无限.
鈥淵ou lie there. Unwilling, unconscious, and become guinea pigs鈥, Freiberger told Bild, 鈥渢here鈥檚 probably no other way to put it...that鈥檚 not possible. You can鈥檛 do that.鈥
The 33-year-old had reportedly read about the case online, only to later be informed by police he was himself the victim in July of that year.
He was not able to testify in court because of illness, the Telegraph reports, while the girl declined to participate in the hearing.
Both surgeons were fired following the incident and now face the possibility of jail time if it is proven the child was permitted to participate.
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