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.