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A neurosurgeon in Austria has denied claims that she allowed her 12-year-old daughter to drill into a patient’s skull during an emergency operation, according to reports.

The alleged incident took place in January 2024 when a farm worker was flown to the University Hospital Graz after a tree branch struck his head, per The Times and The Telegraph.

The trial against the unnamed surgeon began on Oct. 14, nearly a year after the allegations surfaced, The Kronen Zeitung reported.

According to The Times, the surgeon’s daughter had shown an interest in medicine and begged her mother to observe the surgery. She was reportedly given surgical scrubs and allowed into the operating room.

Prosecutor Julia Steiner claimed, “She took the twelve-year-old girl into the operating theater, where she drilled a hole into the exposed skullcap alone and without help. Beforehand, the accused explained the function of the drilling device,” per The Kronen Zeitung.

The alleged act occurred during a minor procedure at the end of surgery — inserting a probe to measure intracranial pressure — which required drilling into the skull, The Times said.

According to the reports, the senior surgeon left the procedure to a junior colleague and stepped away to take a phone call. Conflicting accounts emerged about what happened next.

“My biggest mistake was letting her go to the operating table,” the surgeon said, to which Judge Gundula Neudeck replied, “Your biggest mistake was probably taking her there in the first place; a child has no business being there,” The Telegraph reported.

Both the senior and junior surgeons have been dismissed. If the court determines the child did participate in drilling, the pair could face charges of causing bodily harm by allowing an untrained person to treat a patient — an offense that carries up to a year in prison or a fine.

The junior surgeon testified that the girl participated after asking to help. “I was surprised by the question, but I didn’t refuse it, which was a huge mistake,” he said, claiming he believed the senior surgeon had approved. He added that the girl placed her hand on the drill, but he “was always in control of the pedal [that controlled the speed] and always in control of the drill,” The Telegraph noted.

“You are proud that you have taken good care of the patient, but you only realize later that a mistake has been made that is morally and ethically unacceptable,” he told the court.

The senior surgeon allegedly boasted afterward that her daughter had “made her first drill hole,” according to The Kronen Zeitung.

Defense lawyer Bernhard Lehofer acknowledged that his client’s “flippant remark” was “a big mistake.” Prosecutor Steiner countered, “Something like that simply cannot be played down. What would have happened if the drill had been defective and had not stopped automatically after breaking through the skull bone?” She described the event as “incredibly disrespectful.”

Lehofer told the court that his client has “saved the lives of countless people for 20 years” and acknowledged that taking her child into surgery “was not a good idea.” He added that “the operation went wonderfully and the patient is doing very well,” insisting the girl merely rested her hand on the drill rather than using it independently.

The surgeon admitted to the courtroom that she had boasted out of “stupid motherly pride,” The Kronen Zeitung reported.

An anesthetist present during the operation testified that she saw “four hands on the drill, two of which were the daughter’s,” per The Times.

Dr. Stefan Wolfsberger, head of neurosurgery at the hospital, told the court, “This is terrible. The case is known all over the world — people from every continent are talking to me about it,” adding, “Our neurosurgery enjoys such a high reputation. Now, patients are afraid because of this. But respect for our patients is our damned duty.”

The girl declined to testify, and the patient was unable to appear in court due to illness, according to The Times. The case has been adjourned until Dec. 10.

The University Hospital Graz and Austria’s Federal Ministry of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Attempts to reach defense lawyer Bernhard Lehofer were also unsuccessful.