Austrian surgeon 'let teenage daughter drill hole in patient's skull' (news.sky.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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An Austrian surgeon allegedly let his teenage daughter drill a hole in a patient's skull.

Following a forestry accident in January, a 33-year-old man was flown by air ambulance to Graz University Hospital, Styria, southeastern Austria, with serious head injuries, according to Kronen Zeitung, an Austrian newspaper.

He needed emergency surgery, but the doctor allegedly let his 13-year-old daughter take part in operating on him.

The newspaper reported that she even drilled a hole in the patient's skull.

While the operation was said to have gone off without issue, the patient is still unable to work and investigations by the Graz public prosecutor's officer against the entire surgical team are continuing.

It wasn't until April that an anonymous complaint was logged to the public prosecutor's office about the allegations, the newspaper reported.

The alleged victim initially learned about the case in the media before later being told by authorities he was a witness in an investigation.

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[-] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

...bro what the fuck was everyone else in the OR doing? Craniotomies take a full team of people, and every single person in that room should have lost their shit when a 13 year old got anywhere near it, let alone scrubbed in to the damn surgery and fucking practice medicine.

Why didn't the nurse unplug the thing? Why didn't the tech cut the fucking cord? Why didn't the anesthesiologist scroll more aggressively on his iPad??

This story represents a metric shit-ton of failures, not just the surgeon/daughter.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

Maybe the ananymous report came from a member of the staff. I suspect that the kind of doctor who allows his unqualified daughter to operate on a patient is also an asshole to whom it is hard to say no as a subordinate.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

So an average surgeon

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

I like how hating on anesthesiologists is universal. Thank you for the chuckle.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Workplace politics, the surgeon is likely an asshole who shoves shit down the throat of anyone who disagrees with him.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

It's only brain surgery, not rocket science. You can calm down 😅

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Yo did she do a good job tho?

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

The article said the operation was completed without issue, so sounds good to me.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

It said "the operation was said to have gone off without issue, the patient is still unable to work". Who is saying it didn't have issues though? If the patient still isn't able to work, it sounds potentially like there may have potentially been issues. It may have actually not had issues, but I'm not taking the surgeon or hospital's word for it, assuming it is them who said this.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

With a serious head injury you ain't going back to work in the morning. Not defending the surgeon, but the guy probably might never work again because of the injury. Hell, his whole personality might be changed because of it. And there is no way to know how the operation might have turned out or not.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Oh, for sure. It doesn't say how long it's been though. I'm just saying don't take the word if a person who hid the fact they had a child drill into someone's skull. There's really no way to know how it went.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

Did she get paid?

Or is this yet another case of a minor being exploited for unpaid labor.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

She's a goddamn hero who saved a man's LIFE and her father's CAREER after he was tired and emotional at work and could not keep his hands steady enough to perform brain surgery

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Not enough caps

[-] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

Nor noodles.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Jfc, having the girl in the room at all is a liability, let alone letting her touch the patient.

I hope this guy's malpractice lawyer has good heart meds.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

In the US (the most sue happy place on earth) the guy probably wouldn't get a payout.

At least from reading the article, it infers the surgery and everything done went off without any issues. In the US, if you want to sue and win, you have to show that damages were done to you.

So while it was wildly inappropriate to have a 13 year old there or touching a patient at all, the patient would need to show that it caused damages.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

I'm no lawyer but I think drilling into someone's head without permission might still count as assault.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

But the surgery wasn't assault.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Do you think the patient gave informed consent, where the information included the fact that the surgical team would include untrained people?

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

Damn bro, women can be surgeons too. It's not 1890 anymore.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Women can indeed. Not so sure about 13 year old girls.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

In all fairness, I think it was a joke.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

So many people not getting that lol

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Sarcasm doesn't translate well amongst strangers via text, it's why we've got shortcuts like "/s" everyone should use

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I dont get how the surgeon thought this was okay. When I have a regular check up I have to give permission for a student doctor to simply sit in on my appointment.

Having a 13 year old drill a hole in your head is waaay beyond that. I hope that doctor has their liscence revoked. They clearly don't give a single fuck about their patients.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

Don't surgeries usually have other assistants in the OR as well? Nobody was like "uh, hell no" to this guy bringing a child in and then letting her drill a hole in someone?

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Plenty of other people in there, my ex-wife was a scrub, did nothing but OR. But you do not cross a surgeon, and especially not in his domain. Hence the anonymous complaint that kicked this off.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

I think the biggest problem is that she was in no way insured to do that.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

If somemebody drills a hole into my skull I dont give a shit about their insurance.

Insurance protects them not me. This is absolutely about the doctor putting the patient into a huge unnecessary risk without the patients consent.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

My understanding is that the drill is fixtured in position in procedures as delicate as this, so that it really can't move and drill anywhere except where it needs to. Likely why Dad thought (wrongly) that it was harmless.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

Surgical tech here!

...I got bad news.

In craniotomies, once the skull is exposed the doc will use basically a handheld dremel to punch a few holes, then connect the dots with a side-biting bit.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

Could she have done the initial drill in such a manner? Mounted drill etc

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

I've never seen a mounted drill in the OR (though I imagine there is an option for it - bed-mounted instruments and equipment are pretty common).

Here's a video that kinda shows how craniotomies go - this is just an animation, nothing gory. The drill in the animation is different from the onces I've seen used for cranis (pistol-shaped vs just a cylinder like the one I linked earlier) but either way, it's very much a hand-held device.

Even micro surgery like when we're drilling in a tympanoplasty or cochlear implant placement - literally done under a microscope - it's still just a little dremmel looking thing.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

I just wanted to be sure to say thank you for your thoughtful replies with sources, I have learned some things and enjoyed it.

[-] [email protected] -1 points 2 weeks ago

Well not only has Hollywood lied to us again, I now feel 10 times more horrified about this story.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

It likely was harmless, since the article infers ther surgery went well. It was just inappropriate and looks bad. When suing in the US you have to show damages. The patient may have a hard time winning his case.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

I think that's an entirely wrong starting point. Operating on a person without their informed consent is bodily harm. You have to prove the patient agreed. (Ignoring for the moment situations where they can't.)

The patient never agreed to a surgery in part performed by that kid, but to one performed entirely by trained professionals.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

But there was no bodily harm. If the procedure had failed or an infection happened there would be, but from the light bit of info in the article, the procedure was successful. No damages incurred due to the 13 year olds involvement.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

But there was no bodily harm.

Opening up the patient - by itself - is bodily harm ("Körperverletzung") already. It is only legal in the context of consent, and that consent only carries any weight if it was informed. Even if nothing goes wrong and no damages occur the lack of informed consent makes the act illegal.

This is probably https://gesetzefinden.at/bundesrecht/bundesgesetze/stgb/para-83 by the child, who is too young to be tried or punished, but should be https://gesetzefinden.at/bundesrecht/bundesgesetze/stgb/para-282 by the mother.

Maybe https://gesetzefinden.at/bundesrecht/bundesgesetze/stgb/para-110 is also relevant, if we assume the deficient consent also has consequences for the other medical treatment that occured from other people in the room.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

Life saving emergencies constitute implied consent. It doesn't actually need to be given beforehand if it's to save/help someone who can't currently make a choice.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Okay, sorry, I didn't realize this wasn't a scheduled surgery, I only read the German article from the comments.

Yes there is the concept of implied consent for those cases where a patient can't make his will known. But in those cases you have to act along the presumed will of the patient. That will of the patient would regularily be presumed to contain the lege artis, at least in a setting where the hospital has been reached already and the option was available. So that again precludes untrained people participating in my view.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

I'm confused why she was there in the first place

[-] [email protected] -1 points 2 weeks ago

Obviously it was take your kid to work day. Really it's no different than letting them fly the plane, drive the Amtrak train, or run the hose on the riot police truck during a riot.

(I'll let you figure out which one of those examples is real)

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

I'm gonna say "drive the train"

[-] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

Oof, it was fly the plane. It's okay though they never did it again.

this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2024

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