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Sent home with a broken jaw: Hungarian man operated on in Austria hours after hospital discharge
A supporter of Hungary’s satirical Two-Tailed Dog Party (MKKP) says he was discharged from a Hungarian hospital with a serious open jaw fracture, only to receive emergency, potentially life-saving surgery in Austria a few hours later. According to the party, the case shows major differences between the two countries’ public healthcare systems.
The incident, detailed in a first-hand account published by the party, occurred over Christmas.
Family dispute ends in serious injury
According to the man, who asked to remain anonymous, the injury happened on Christmas Eve during a family argument allegedly sparked by political differences. He was punched in the face and suffered multiple facial fractures.
He arrived at the Veszprém hospital late in the evening. Imaging tests, including a CT scan, revealed several broken cheekbones and an open jaw fracture. Doctors initially told him that immediate surgery would be required.
He was admitted overnight to the trauma ward, given painkillers and antibiotics, and informed he would be transferred to oral surgery the next morning.
“But that didn’t happen”
Instead, the patient says he was unexpectedly discharged around 10 AM on Christmas Day.
He claims no doctor examined him before release, he received no discharge papers at the time, and he was told to return four days later for a consultation. Surgery, he was informed, was no longer necessary.
By then, swelling had worsened, swallowing had become difficult, and pain was intensifying.
Fearing complications, he decided to seek help back in Austria, where he had been working for the past six months.
Immediate action in Austria
At a hospital in Wiener Neustadt, doctors performed another CT scan and reportedly reached the same conclusion as the Hungarian team’s original assessment: the open jaw fracture required urgent surgery.
Although no oral surgeon was available on-site, the staff refused to send him home, warning that untreated swelling could obstruct his airways and become life-threatening.
He was transferred the same day to St. Pölten, where the regional on-call oral surgery unit was operating. His records were forwarded in advance so preparations could begin immediately.
The following morning, around 13 hours after admission, he underwent a two-hour operation under general anaesthetic.
Hungary vs. Austria: A huge contrast in care
In his account, the man described significant differences between the two systems.
In Austria, he said he was placed in a well-equipped two-bed room and received continuous monitoring, daily medical rounds and detailed written aftercare instructions upon discharge. He remained hospitalised for three nights before being released.
Meanwhile, he claims that on the very day he left the Austrian hospital, the Veszprém hospital issued paperwork stating that he had been treated there continuously until discharge and that surgery had not been deemed necessary.
He described this as “the most outrageous part” of the experience.
Several photos the man took in the hospital and of the papers he received can be checked out here.
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Political reactions
According to the Two-Tailed Dog Party, this case shows major problems within Hungary’s public healthcare sector, including staff shortages, underfunding and long waiting lists.
The Hungarian Medical Chamber has previously estimated that the system would require hundreds of billions of forints in additional annual funding to stabilise services and reduce delays.
State Secretary for Health Péter Takács has repeatedly rejected claims of systemic staff shortages and has defended the government’s healthcare performance.