However, the serious complications that Castillo suffered were, for a long time, kept very quiet. If the sins of Karolinska have been committed elsewhere, it is partly because medical research facilities share a common milieu, which harbours common dangers. I dont want to live like this, she concluded. In April 2017, the university terminated his project. (The patient who survived had the implant removed.). A review of public records in Italy found that Paolo was never divorced from Emanuela Pecchia, his wife of nearly 30 years. Paolo then came across Andemariam Teklesenbet Beyene, a man from Eritrea who was training to be a doctor when he got diagnosed with cancer. And it needs a blood supply to connect to the patients vascular system. Even the jewelry he had given her was fake. The theory was simple: let the body do most of the work. Benita fell for Macchiarini while a producer for NBC, working on a story on him in 2013. The mild sentence comes as a disappointment to Macchiarinis critics. The grant ended in spring 2017. All rights reserved. Benita decided to get in touch with private investigator Frank Murphy. Dmitris graft had started collapsing six months into his surgery as well, but he managed to get it successfully removed and is now living with a tracheostomy. Some of them have been successful, but theyre cumbersome in different ways and theyre not a trachea, Dr. Patterson said. Euan Ward reported from London, and Christina Anderson from Bastad, Sweden. The district court in Solna today found Paolo Macchiarini not guilty on other charges, including aggravated assault, relating to three patients he treated while working for the famed Karolinska Institute (KI). What comes next after Texas school shooting? Disgraced surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, who faked research relating to dangerous and largely discredited tracheal transplants, has been handed a 16 month prison sentence in Italy for forging documents and abuse of office. Or rather, his celebrity status helped him do so. But the vice-chancellor of Karolinska Institute, Anders Hamsten, wasnt bound by this judgement. California Kentucky Dr. Paolo Macchiarini became a star by creating a bioartificial windpipe. That was a very smart idea to help maintain the fragile blood supply of the airway by leaving the esophagus in place behind it, Dr. Patterson said. Kevin Belingon China As he said in Experimenten: If I had the option of a synthetic trachea or a firing squad, Id choose the last option because it would be the least painful form of execution.. But, we now know that the success of this operation was a lie, and the complications she suffered because of it were kept under wraps for a really long time. He convinced the Karolinska Institute that this could make them famous, and they just let him do it. I didnt want the fairy tale to end., Alexander also hired a private investigator, a former Pennsylvania State Police detective named Frank Murphy. Anyone can read what you share. She received a new trachea in January and is believed to be the first patient in the world to undergo a successful direct transplant of a donor trachea. Colleagues accused him of manipulating his results, even warning of the harm caused by these so-called regenerative windpipes. Hes clearly bright and has accomplishments, but he cant contain himself. New York City They exchange their vows in Italy. At any rate, some of his most powerful friends were themselves Nobel judges until, with his fall from grace, they fell too. When the blood vessels were finally connected, the donor trachea began bleeding. And because it was built from Castillos own cells, she didnt need to be on any risky immunosuppressant drugs. Unfortunately, the scandal is much bigger than Karolinska, which accounts for only three of the patients who have received Macchiarinis regenerating windpipes. Brazil Emanuela Pecchia has been married to Paolo Macchiarini for over 30 years. According to Macchiarini and his colleagues, her artificial organ was well on the way to looking and functioning liked a natural one. All three patients later died. But, he added, Its an indirect technique. It takes time and can replace only the tracheas halfpipe side, so its not a complete tube.. He additionally claimed that former patients also included Bill and Hillary Clinton, and thenPresident Obama. Though Macchiarini was in the public eye, he was able to sidestep the usual rules and regulations. The story portrayed Macchiarini, who was already married at the time, as a serial fabulist who exaggerated or lied about degrees, academic appointments, and The first successful direct transplant of a trachea is a medical milestone that could help thousands of people with airways damaged by ventilators and other causes. You cant justify doing experimental surgery and immunosuppression when you see something else that looks perfect, so you realize, wow, were out of business., As Dr. Macchiarinis work drew criticism, Dr. Genden revived his idea, but was uncertain about trying it. New Jersey Benita packed her bags again, and began to search for Paolo in order to face him once more and their final confrontation is captured in He Lied About Everything. In court testimony, he defended himself as only trying to help desperately ill patients, and said he had the full support of KI and his colleagues. For Ms. Sein, the procedure was a long-sought dream. Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. But even if his days had been numbered, this didnt necessarily justify what Macchiarini put him through. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? As for Keziah Shorten, who suffered from trachea cancer, Paolo Macchiarini did a transplant on her on July 13, 2010, which failed the very next year. She visits Mount Sinai weekly for blood work. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. As studies have shown, the media often casts a positive light on stem cell tourism, suggesting that the treatments are effective and the risks low. Macchiarini shot to prominence back in 2008, when he created a new airway for Claudia Castillo, a young woman from Barcelona. Andrea Bocelli was to sing at the ceremony. As it turned out, Macchiarinis patients werent all at deaths door at the time he treated them. The transplants, performed on patients from the United States and other countries, were heralded as inaugurating a regenerative medicine revolution. WebPaolo Macchiarini (born 22 August 1958): 2 is a Swiss-born Italian thoracic surgeon and former regenerative medicine researcher who became known for research fraud and manipulative behavior. It won Dr. Macchiarini international news coverage and cemented his place as a celebrity scientist. He was eventually dismissed from Karolinska. A 29-year old woman from New Brunswick, New Jersey, posed as a high school student and attended classes for four days before she was caught and arrested. The donor was a young man (identifying details are being withheld to protect privacy). An advantage is that immunosuppressants are necessary only for several months, he said. In addition to his partner of over 30 years, he also had a special next woman. They will especially examine the judges decision that Macchiarini couldnt be held responsible for what happened to Andemariam and Lyles because he acted in distress, according to the courts statement. Besides which, compassionate concerns dont override the basic principles of patient safety and informed consent. (LogOut/ And after hiring a private investigator, Ms Alexander found that Dr Macchiarini, pictured, was a man of more modest means living in Barcelona and that he was still married to his wife of 30 years Ms Alexander told Vanity Fair: 'I just didn't want to put two and two together. The first person to receive one of these was Andemariam Beyene, an Eritrean doctoral student in geology at the University of Iceland. There are people who go to jail for 5 years for not paying their taxes. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Because mucus would clog her tube, she was constantly suctioning, constantly worried about her airway, and it becomes overwhelming, Dr. Genden said, like being held down in a swimming pool. So in 2010, Paolo operated on her at the National Research Center of Surgery in Moscow. Cardiothoracic surgeon Matthias Corbascio, one of Macchiarinis former colleagues at KI who first raised questions about the work, describes it as terrible and insane. The court basically gave him a slap on the wrist, says Corbascio, who is now at the University of Copenhagen. And Murphy found that Macchiarinis claims about the wedding were almost all untrue and that the surgeon was married and had been for nearly 30 years. The court ruling Thursday was in a case involving a Turkish woman named Yesim Cetir, who was the longest surviving of his patients at Karolinska. 2023 Warner Bros. Florida They should be. Thats something that was new to us, so we need to analyze that, Lundstrm-Kron says. Back in New York, Benita found herself unable to stop thinking about Paolo's patients. The surgeons defense attorney, Bjrn Hurtig, said his client was considering an appeal. Not only that, they later covered it up.. As the home of the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine, one of its ambitions is to create scientific celebrities. The procedure involved replacing a damaged trachea with a plastic replica that had been soaked in the patients stem cells. Beyenes death two and a half years after the operation, caused by the failure of his artificial airway, was a grueling ordeal. Dr. Macchiarini received a conditional, or suspended, sentence, and was acquitted of assault charges related to two other patients who had also received the artificial organs from him at the Swedish facility. Every year, it gives science a show-business makeover, picking out from the mass of medical researchers those individuals deserving of superstardom. No, he was just caring for his patients who were, one and all, facing certain death with no other treatment options available and no time to waste. In the first couple of years at Karolinska, he put plastic airways into three patients. Sadly, she passed away soon after her second implant. His operation was on June 9, 2011, at the Karolinska University Hospital, where he received the upgraded plastic trachea made at University College London. Talking about her spouse Any woman would swoon for such a catch! Karolinska Institute announced in February 2016 that it would not renew his research contract, which was due to expire in November 2016, then terminated the contract in December 2016. But hes lost his reputation, and thats more important.. Now they were on the wedding guest list: the Obamas, the Clintons, Vladimir Putin, Nicolas Sarkozy and other world leaders. So did Karolinskas dean of research. A few years ago, Japans Haruko Obokata pulled a similar con when she announced to the world a new and simple and fake method of turning ordinary body cells into stem cells. They shared a happy relationship. It is unclear whether Dr. Macchiarini is still practicing medicine, but his lawyer said in May that he had no income. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. But some of Alexander's friends began to become suspicious. Not only that, they later covered it up.. He reportedly lied on his CV and research papers to trick patients, causing almost all those who received his inventive trachea transplants (using their own bone marrow cells for organ functionality) to lose their lives. I can breathe, she was amazed to discover. Death Season 2, Mandy Moore Joins Dr. Dr. Genden said Dr. Macchiarinis rise and fall profoundly affected his own path. And Murphy found that Macchiarinis claims about the wedding were almost all untrue and that the surgeon was married and had been for nearly 30 years. It relieved a little bit of burden from him.. By the time the program aired, in mid-2014, the couple were planning their marriage. According to the Times, Macchiarini seen below in a 2017 interview on Swedens TV4 Nyheterna performed 20 tracheal regeneration procedures across Europe and in the United States but hid the fact that the transplants were failing. Hwang, Obokata and Macchiarini were all attracted to the hottest regions of stem cell research, where hope for a medical breakthrough was greatest. Benita Alexander on attending Paolo Macchiarinis criminal trial in Sweden Alexander said she attended Macchiarini's trial for closure, seven years after she was It would be a star-studded event. The first season of both the Peacock series and the Wondery podcast of the same name told the story of Christopher Duntsch, a former neurosurgeon now serving a life sentence for botched surgeries that left more than 30 patients maimed or dead. But for now, lets focus solely on his medical patients, shall we? Paolo Macchiarinis most notable patient is Claudia Castillo. Born in 1977, this Colombian living in Spain woman suffered from tuberculosis-damaged airways. Paolo Macchiarinis most notable patient is Claudia Castillo. Alexander said that Macchiarini told her he was still married to his wife because they were Catholic but were separated. Brave CF He hopes the immunosuppressant drugs, which can create health risks, can be reduced or even stopped if the entire graft becomes filled with Sonias cells.. But that day is always postponed. Dont yet have access? Dr. Delaere developed another innovative method, performed on nine patients so far: implanting a section of donor trachea in a patients forearm for weeks until it develops blood vessels and can replace part of the patients trachea. LONDON It sounded like real-life science fiction a 3-D printed organ, a groundbreaking artificial windpipe, built in a laboratory and made to order. From November 2011 to June 2014, Paolo Macchiarini gave transplants to Christopher Lyles, Yulia Tuulik, Alexander Zozulya, Yesim Cetir, Hannah Warren (a 3-year-old), Sadiq Kanaan, and Dmitri Onogda. I could feel it in my lungs.. Washington As it was built from Claudias own cells, she didnt need to be on any risky immunosuppressant drugs. The scandal meant theres an amazing amount of scrutiny, he said. Journals retracted several of his studies. What's next for abortion rights in America? Change). However, he eventually found out about his previous associations. Vanity Fair also later discovered that several of Paolo's other statements were false, including his claims about having been an associate professor at the University of Pisa. The very next day, she got an email from a friend that outlined the Pope's plans to visit South America on Benita and Paolo's wedding day. Macchiarini told people that Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Vladimir Putin would attend the wedding, Andrea Bocelli would perform, and Pope Francis (a patient of his, or so he said) would officiate the ceremony, per Vanity Fair. I didnt want Paolo to not be the man I believed him to be, she told Vanity Fair. Mieke Oorts alleged killer used a GPS tracking device to stalk her and would drive up and down the road where she lived to intimidate her. Macchiarini is known for his research fraud and manipulative behavior. These included Harriet Wallberg, who was the vice-chancellor of the Karolinska Institute in 2010, when Macchiarini was recruited. Thereafter it was all over the news. And the TV shows second season, announced earlier this month, will cover the podcasts third, with Edgar Ramirez playing Paolo Macchiarini, and This Is Us star Mandy Moore playing Benita Alexander, an investigative journalist who falls into a whirlwind romance with the doctor. Heres this handsome Italian surgeon at the finest institution in the world, the Karolinska, and hes everything Im not: Hes got a beautiful head of hair, he drives a motorcycle, hes got an accent, hes incredibly charismatic and dynamic, Dr. Genden said. Dr. Gerdin said Dr. Macchiarini was allowed to continue his procedures for so long because the Karolinska Institute and its hospital allowed him to do so. Please try again later. Prosecutors dropped the case a few months later, however, saying they didnt have sufficient evidence to prove manslaughter. There he reinvented his technique. Even the jewelry he had given her was Delaere was one of the earliest and harshest critics of Macchiarinis engineered airways. All rights reserved. This was the start of a whirlwind romance that included five-star hotels, travel to far-flung locations, and extravagant shopping sprees. Paolo Macchiarini is a thoracic surgeon. This guy mutilated people., Between 2011 and 2014, Macchiarini implanted artificial windpipes in at least eight patients in Sweden, the United States, and Russia. They reopened the case in 2020, this time charging Macchiarini on lesser counts of aggravated assault and severe bodily harm. The law is supposed to protect individuals from all types of assault, especially when they are powerless, said Dr. Bengt Gerdin, an independent investigator who was hired by the Karolinska Institute in 2015 to look into Dr. Macchiarinis work. Apparently, her graft detached soon after, causing an infection, and because of difficulties in breathing, she had to be admitted into emergency a total of 13 times. Ive never in my experience witnessed a fraud like this, with this level of international flair, Murphy told Vanity Fair. Its fascinating to rewatch as a lesson on how not to report on medical science. At the trial, Macchiarini and his lawyer argued that the patients, with no other options, had been treated under compassionate care standards. Surely, he got away with so much because he was considered an exception to the rules with more than a whiff of the Nobel about him. How did the GameStop stock spike on Wall Street happen? Also seduced by Macchiarini was former NBC News producer Benita Alexander, who met the surgeon in 2013 when she was working on A Leap of Faith, an NBC special about Macchiarini hosted by Meredith Vieira. Ms. Sein speaking with Dr. Eric M. Genden Sr., left, who developed the pioneering procedure, and Dr. Sander S. Florman, director of Mount Sinais Transplantation Institute. Look out for a message in your inbox in. Disgraced Italian surgeon convicted of criminal harm to stem cell patient. Delaeres damning criticisms appeared in major medical journals, including the Lancet, but werent taken seriously by Karolinskas leadership. His recovery put Macchiarini on the front page of the New York Times. On Friday Mr. Hurtig declined to comment on Paolos private affairs.. Reports of their success always seemed like hot air to him. He did this by chemically stripping away the cells of a windpipe taken from a deceased donor; he then seeded the bare scaffold with stem cells taken from Castillos own bone marrow. In 2013, the hospital halted future operations with synthetic trachea and opted to not extend Macchiarinis contract.
