An Austrian neurosurgeon is currently under investigation for allegedly allowing her 13-year-old daughter to drill a hole in a patient’s skull during a brain operation.

In January of this year, a 33-year-old man had to be flown to the University Hospital Graz, in the Austrian city of Graz, following a serious accident in a forest that left him with head trauma. The female neurosurgeon on call, whose name has not been made public to protect her privacy, allegedly allowed her 13-year-old daughter to not only sin in on the procedure but actually drill a hole into the unconscious patient’s skull. Luckily, the operation was a success and the injured man was able to go back to leading a normal life. No one outside the operation room knew about the young girl’s active role in the procedure, but the cat was let out of the bag in July when an anonymous complaint was lodged with the public prosecutor’s office in Graz about the minor’s involvement.

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Although the investigation into this shocking case is currently ongoing, the Graz hospital confirmed that the surgeon who performed the operation and a senior surgeon who assisted her have both been temporarily suspended. The two doctors are suspected of causing serious bodily harm, while the five-strong hospital staff that was with them during the procedure are being investigated for ‘failure to prevent an act that is punishable by law’.

Meanwhile, the patient whose skull the 13-year-old girl drilled into is preparing to sue the hospital, claiming that he had no idea about the minor girl’s involvement in the operation until he recently heard about it in the press. He was shocked at how much the incident sounded like his own, but back in July police informed him that he was the victim.

“You lie there, unwilling, unconscious, and become a guinea pig. There’s probably no other way to put it… that’s not possible. You can’t do that,” Peter Freiberger, the man’s lawyer said. “There has been no contact, no explanation or apology, nothing. That is simply undignified.”

Mr. Freiberger is currently trying to go after the entire surgery team and ask for compensation for the pain and suffering suffered by his client. The lawyer claims that although the surgery was a success, his client has been unable to work.

“As of yet, there is no concrete evidence that the daughter herself took actual part in the operation,” University Hospital Graz has stated, but the institution has already “expressed its utmost regret and extend its sincere apologies for this incident, and is working to fully clarify the matter.”