Acute head surgery

Girl in the operating theater: Chronology of a scandal

The forestry accident occurred in January in the eastern Styrian district of Weiz. The patient was taken by helicopter to Graz University Hospital and underwent emergency surgery.

(Bild: Tobilander - stock.adobe.com / KroneMED)

The fact that a doctor allegedly allowed her 13-year-old daughter to drill open the skull of a patient at Graz University Hospital during an emergency operation has caused a nationwide stir (the "Krone" reported on it on Sunday). Here is the chronology of the scandal.

• The forestry accident occurred on the morning of January 13, 2024. 
• The victim, who was unconscious, was operated on the same day and his skull was drilled at exactly 2.47 pm (time determined by the executive). According to internal hospital investigations, the 13-year-old daughter of an attending neurosurgeon is said to have operated the instrument.
• The patient remains in intensive care foreleven days and the farmer is still unable to work.
• On April 26 , an anonymous complaint was sent by post to the public prosecutor's office in Graz. Initially, they thought it was a bad joke. Eventually an investigation is launched.
• On 25 May, Kages reacted for the first time to the rumors that had been circulating internally for weeks and suspended the doctors in charge of the operation. Both have since been dismissed without notice.
• The "Krone" brought the case to light on June 7, resulting in a wave of outrage and enormous media coverage.
• It was not until a month later - on July 8 - that the Styrian who had been involved in the accident was informed by the police that he was a witness in an investigation.
• On August 25, the "Krone" uncovered the next scandal: According to the criminal file, people involved in the operation allegedly admitted that the 13-year-old had drilled the hole in the patient's skull. The patient Gregor R. and his lawyer Peter Freiberger are particularly angry about this: Neither Kages nor Graz University Hospital have ever contacted those affected.

Incidentally, the patient Gregor R. "can't remember anything". His brother witnessed the accident at the time and set the rescue chain in motion. In doing so, he probably saved the Styrian's life.

The lawyer now wants to sue for damages.