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The court said the penalty was a suspended sentence, but did not specify how long the sentence would be if imposed. But some of Alexander's friends began to become suspicious. 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. Its actually meaningless for him, Gerdin says. Claudia Castillo with Dr Paolo Macchiarini. Emanuela Pecchia Everything We Know On Paolo Macchiarini They also questioned whether Macchiarini had obtained proper ethical permission for the surgeries and challenged a paper describing animal experiments with the technique. At the time, Macchiarini was working at Swedens Karolinska Institute, which awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine every year. The story portrayed Macchiarini, who was already married at the time, as a serial fabulist who exaggerated or lied about degrees, academic appointments, and I Googled trachea transplant and Dr. Genden popped up. But because Macchiarini is apparently living in Spain, its unlikely to have much effect. It did much the same for Macchiarinis windpipe replacements. After several weeks in recovery, she is home. Then, in October of 2009, another woman, who had been operated on by Paolo twice before, received her airway transplant. Benita Alexander with one of the custom-made gowns intended for her wedding [Investigation Discovery]. Alexander eventually fell in love with the surgeon, and in 2014, he proposed to her, and they started planning a lavish wedding for the following year. They exchange their vows in Italy. Thats something that was new to us, so we need to analyze that, Lundstrm-Kron says. Border crisis: Whats happening at the US-Mexico border? 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Paolo Macchiarini She received another But, he added, Its an indirect technique. It takes time and can replace only the tracheas halfpipe side, so its not a complete tube.. As of the time of that judgment, Macchiarini had not been prosecuted in other countries where he implanted his artificial windpipes, and it was unclear whether he was still practicing medicine, the Times adds. His recovery put Macchiarini on the front page of the New York Times. But they found prosecutors didnt prove Macchiarini was indifferent to the injuries or suffering that the surgeries might cause, the standard required for aggravated assault. This is how NBCs Meredith Vieira put it in her documentary about Macchiarini, appropriately called A Leap of Faith: Just imagine a world where any injured or diseased organ or body part you have is simply replaced by a new artificial one, literally manmade in the lab, just for you. This marvelous world was now within reach, thanks to Macchiarini. When the blood vessels were finally connected, the donor trachea began bleeding. She became close to Paolo as she opened her heart to him about how hard it was for her daughter, then nine years old, to lose her father. A review of public records in Italy found that Paolo was never divorced from Emanuela Pecchia, his wife of nearly 30 years. Macchiarini, who denied the charges against him, wasnt directly accused of killing any of the three patients. 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. Hes clearly bright and has accomplishments, but he cant contain himself. Records show that even with his implant failing, Andemariam was able to complete his Ph.D. before his demise in January 2013. Ohio If the Pope was planning to marry two divorcees, surely it would be huge global news? Gerdin determined that Macchiarini committed scientific misconduct, but leadership at the Karolinska Institute ignored the findings and cleared Macchiarini. But as time went on, she could not resist her connection to the dashing surgeon and she violated the number one rule of journalism: Never get involved with a person you're reporting on. So, as per the last reports, he is alive and well today. According to the Karolinska Institutes timeline of the Macchiarini case, the institute recruited Macchiarini as a visiting professor of regenerative medicine/stem cell biology in 2010, and the associated Karolinska University Hospital gave him a part-time contract as a consultant and surgeon around the same time. Almost overnight, he became a superstar. We now know that wasnt true. This went on for three years until, just recently, Grinnemo was cleared of all wrongdoing. Paolo was a world-renowned surgeon who spoke six languages, mingled with the global elite, and resembled George Clooney. She pushed through his appointment despite the fact that he had some very negative references and dubious claims on his rsum. Macchiarini was also charged with but acquitted of assault charges related to the deaths of two more of his artificial windpipe patients, an Eritrean man named Andemariam Beyene and an American man named Christopher Lyles, according to BBC News. 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. Video Benita Alexander on attending Paolo Macchiarinis criminal How climate change and forest management make wildfires harder to contain, Disparity in police response: Black Lives Matter protests and Capitol riot. Paolo Macchiarini Benita traveled to Paolo's Barcelona home with two friends and a video camera. The Karolinska Institute declined to comment for this article, noting only that Dr. Macchiarinis sentence may be appealed. For Ms. Sein, the procedure was a long-sought dream. Stem-cell scientist Dr. Paolo Macchiarini was accused of wrongdoing during operations on three people between 2011 and 2014. Ciaran Lynch, born in 2000 in Ireland without a functional trachea, received a transplant on March 15, 2010, at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. She was wearing a blonde wig, and her nervous laughter is audible on the video they shot. In addition to his partner of over 30 years, he also had a special next woman. Paolo Macchiarini at a press conference in 2008. While there isnt enough data to actually prove this, we do have some key indicators. I had a brave face, but I was scared, Ms. Sein said. Emanuela Pecchia has been married to Paolo Macchiarini for over 30 years. While many in Sweden expressed disappointment at what they saw as the leniency of the sentence, given that prosecutors had asked for five years in prison, the verdict nonetheless represented the culmination of a stunning fall from grace for a once high-flying surgeon. Seven of the eight patients Paolo inserted tracheas into have died. He says prosecutors should have pressed for manslaughter charges because Macchiarini had no evidence that the tracheas he implanted would develop into normally functioning organs. A review of public records in Italy found that Paolo was never divorced from Emanuela Pecchia, his wife of nearly 30 years. 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 grant ended in spring 2017. Thats what our experience of medical research leads us to suspect. ONE Championship And because it was built from Castillos own cells, she didnt need to be on any risky immunosuppressant drugs. Philippines But after Alexander learned that Pope Francis was scheduled to visit South America at the time of their wedding, she confronted Macchiarini about his claims. Paolo Macchiarini is exposed Reality struck Alexander's fantasy romance eight weeks before she was supposed to marry Macchiarini in 2015, when she received an email from a colleague with the subject line saying, "The Pope." Only three are still alive as of September 2020. Thats what Macchiarini told his fiancee. Other witnesses contradicted that, arguing that with Andemariams slow-growing cancer, minor surgeries and other treatments could have kept him alive. The Karolinska Institute, alleging scientific misconduct, dismissed Dr. Macchiarini, who has long denied wrongdoing. It is thus likely she has since passed away. He opened and cleaned out the donors esophagus, laying it against Ms. Seins esophagus. 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. Chief judge Bjoern Skaensberg said the court agreed that Macchiarinis operations were not consistent with science and proven experience, but the court determined that two of the interventions were justifiable.. Plus: NYC sixth-grader struck and killed by stray bullet; New Hampshire police search for person of interest in double homicide; Fyre Festival fraudster released early from prison; and manhunt continues for escaped Texas prisoner. 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. Now they were on the wedding guest list: the Obamas, the Clintons, Vladimir Putin, Nicolas Sarkozy and other world leaders. Last year, however, the dream soured, exposing an ugly reality. Though Macchiarini was in the public eye, he was able to sidestep the usual rules and regulations. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. They reopened the case in 2020, this time charging Macchiarini on lesser counts of aggravated assault and severe bodily harm. Singapore KI officials let him do this. In 2016, Vanity Fair published an expose on Paolo that uncovered even more damning evidence. 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. (The patient who survived had the implant removed.). He performed a synthetic trachea transplant on, In 2013, he met documentary television producer. Beyenes death two and a half years after the operation, caused by the failure of his artificial airway, was a grueling ordeal. In their view, he was grossly misrepresenting his results and the health of his patients. Yet because of the ensuing complications, she had to receive a tracheoplasty in April 2011 and another cadaveric trachea graft in 2018. Death for Season 2 at Peacock, From 'Truth About Pam' to 'Candy,' True-Crime EPs Tell the Truth (VIDEO). The answer came only a couple of weeks later, when Swedish television began broadcasting a three-part expos of Macchiarini and his work. However, he eventually found out about his previous associations. That drama began about a decade ago when Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, working at Swedens famed Karolinska Institute, garnered headlines and accolades for replacing The plastic trachea that Yesim Cetir received disfigured her and made her last three years in life basically like torture, said Bosse Lindquist, a documentarian who broke the story in Sweden about Dr. Macchiarini in a television series, The Experiment.. According to Pierre Delaere, a professor of respiratory surgery at KU Leuven, Belgium, Macchiarinis experiments were bound to end badly. Previously considered a pioneer for using both biological and synthetic scaffolds Macchiarini was turning the dream of regenerative medicine into a reality. California Her colleague had sent an article that said the pope would not be in Rome, or even Italy, on the day of their wedding. Sonia Sein, outside her Bronx home, had irreparable damage to her trachea. Guided by several mentors, he delved into research and animal experiments, developing a transplant approach. Dont yet have access? But it did not work, and a court in Sweden has found him criminally liable for the harm Scientific pioneer, superstar surgeon, miracle worker thats how Paolo Macchiarini was known for several years. The Italian surgeon and his Italian wife Emanuela Pecchia have one son and one daughter. There is South Koreas Hwang Woo-suk who, in 2004, falsely claimed to have created the first human embryonic stem cells by means of cloning. Anyone can read what you share. Besides which, compassionate concerns dont override the basic principles of patient safety and informed consent. 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.CreditSarah Blesener for The New York Times. Paolo Macchiarini Wife By the time the program aired, in mid-2014, the couple were planning their marriage. There was nothing anybody could do for these patients, said Dr. Genden, who became captivated by the problem in medical school 30 years ago after a patient with a tracheal tumor died. She visits Mount Sinai weekly for blood work. 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. All rights reserved. New York City By June 2013, when Paolo took Benita to Venice, Italy, for a romantic weekend, she knew she was falling madly in love. North Carolina Paolo dropped another bomb when he told Benita that, despite the fact that both of them had been divorced, Pope Francis would officiate at their wedding. 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). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. This thing came to life, Dr. Genden marveled, and we were like, Holy smokes, weve done it.. They exchange their vows in Italy. She had subsequently undergone six major surgeries and more than 10 smaller procedures, but with all conventional approaches to address her condition exhausted, she made plans to have the tube removed and receive only palliative care. 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. The official report into the matter dubbed this the bandwagon effect. It must be lined with cilia, hairlike projections like shag carpeting that move and clean the air we breathe in, he said. All but one died following severe complications with the implants. Alexander admits that, at the time, she was in a vulnerable place. Some answers have emerged from the official inquiries into the Karolinska Institute and the Karolinska University hospital. Paolo Macchiarini - Wikipedia But of 20 patients, including children, most ultimately died, and scientists said Dr. Macchiarini misrepresented data and exaggerated his techniques effectiveness. Next month, she will turn 57. According to Macchiarini and his colleagues, her artificial organ was well on the way to looking and functioning liked a natural one. Still, noting that previous attempts didnt show documented success, he cautioned that longer-term results were needed before the technique should be embraced, adding, Lets see how it works and how you can do it in more patients.. In the first couple of years at Karolinska, he put plastic airways into three patients. Benita Alexander had no way of knowing that, by the end of her love story, her heart would be broken and many of Paolos patients who received the miracle transplants would be dead. February 28, 2022 Emanuela Pecchia is famously known as the wife of popular Swiss-born Italian thoracic surgeon, Paolo Macchiarini. From Confines Of Russia, Controversial Stem-Cell Surgeon https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/health/trachea-transplant-genden.html. Macchiarini gave his regenerating windpipes to 17 or more patients worldwide. Starting in 2011, Macchiarini performed three transplantations of synthetic tracheas at Karolinska University Hospital, but one of those patients died in 2012, the timeline reports. "I have to tell people. Read More: Where is Benita Alexander Now? 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 place of clinical data, there are gushing testimonials. Andemariam Beyene, for instance, had recurrent cancer of the windpipe but, aside from a cough, was still in good health. 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. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Chinese balloon photos Benita Alexander on attending Paolo Macchiarinis criminal trial in Sweden Alexander said she attended Macchiarini's trial for closure, seven years after she was unknowingly caught in a fraudulent romance with him, and for justice for his patients and for their families. July 21, 2022 Examined 9:54 Whats next for Russia? They should be. For six years, she had endured a tube inserted in her windpipe, or trachea, to keep her alive, but her discomfort and distress were becoming more and more unbearable. There Was Nothing Anybody Could Do for These Patients. Now There Is. How did the GameStop stock spike on Wall Street happen? The idea is that scientific progress is driven by the genius of a few. He understood how difficult her life had become. Each new scientific discovery brings a flood of stories about how it will revolutionise medicine one day soon. 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. Kentucky You start to panic because you cant breathe., By early 2020, ethical approvals were in place, but the coronavirus pandemic held things up. Paolo Macchiarini traveled to Illinois to operate on toddler Hannah Warren, who was born without a trachea in 2013. The different gender was important, allowing Dr. Genden to use chromosomal analysis to detect whether Ms. Seins cells populated the new trachea. A genius is a revolutionary by definition, a risk-taker and a law-breaker. Faced with this public relations disaster, the Karolinska Institute immediately promised to investigate the allegations but then, within days, suddenly announced that Macchiarinis contract would not be extended. Benita Alexander wearing a wig as she tracked down Paolo in Barcelona [Investigation Discovery]. According to the judgment in Macchiarinis case, hospital staff said that Cetir had around 40 near-death experiences and was conscious but unable to breathe for many of them. So I called and called till I got an appointment., Dr. Genden said Ms. Sein beseeched him for the transplant, saying, You need to do this for me or Im going to end my life.. So, how much is Paolo Macchiarini worth at the age of 64 years old? So in 2010, Paolo operated on her at the National Research Center of Surgery in Moscow. New Jersey After being dismissed from the institute, he worked at the Kazan Federal University in Kazan, Russia. Source: ABC Article continues below advertisement His relationship with Benita, Paolo Macchiarini There are also plenty of desperate patients who believe because theyve been told countless times that stem cells are the cure, and who cannot wait any longer for mainstream medicine. Jakarta "Maybe it happened because I am a journalist, and once I sort of woke up and put my journalist hat back on, I could expose him," she said. Some of them have been successful, but theyre cumbersome in different ways and theyre not a trachea, Dr. Patterson said. Los Angeles Talking about her spouse Paolo, he became infamous for research fraud and manipulative behavior. Here are 13 more things about him: Categories: biographical data, crimes, Europe, fitness & health, Italy, Lifestyle, LISTS, Russia, Social Issues, Sweden, Tagged as: Basel, Benita Alexander, Emanuela Pecchia, Paolo Macchiarini. It is also unclear whether the verdict Thursday will have an impact in other jurisdictions where Dr. Macchiarini conducted windpipe operations. She remained in intensive care for more than three years at Karolinska University Hospital and underwent more than 200 surgical procedures. Paolo Macchiarini was amazingly accomplished, stunningly successful, and fabulously rich. 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. As the home of the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine, one of its ambitions is to create scientific celebrities. It would be a star-studded event. KI commissioned surgeon Bengt Gerdin, a professor emeritus at Uppsala University, to investigate the issue. She has since had the synthetic trachea removed. (LogOut/ This was the start of a whirlwind romance that included five-star hotels, travel to far-flung locations, and extravagant shopping sprees. Although all three patients eventually died, Dr. Macchiarini was not directly accused of killing them. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Unfortunately, though, she reportedly succumbed to her underlying disease in January of 2012. Disgraced tracheal transplant surgeon is handed 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. If as a doctor you do stupid things, then you can be charged. But the not-guilty verdicts on the other two cases highlight how the law can leave vulnerable people unprotected, he says, for example when they are facing life-and-death decisions and holding less information than their doctor. This was Macchiarinis first big success. "If I made a checklist of what I wanted a man to be, he had everything.". Acquittal is therefore difficult to defend., But Gerdin says the verdict is not unexpected. She had already spent $10,000 on engraved invitations made for a guest list that included the Obamas, the Clintons, Vladimir Putin, and Elton John. Macchiarini, meanwhile, said he did not accept the findings of the disciplinary board. Why are people hesitant to trust a COVID-19 vaccine? Its enough to worry officials from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). When you implant a synthetic trachea you have one certainty, and that is that the patient will die as a result of it, Delaere says in the email. Tokyo Keep up with your favorite shows delivered to your inbox! He was eventually dismissed from Karolinska. Instead, they found him guilty of negligence and the lesser charge of causing bodily harm. US Capitol I could feel it in my lungs.. Not only that, they later covered it up.. Who Were Paolo Macchiarinis Victims? - The Cinemaholic Delaeres damning criticisms appeared in major medical journals, including the Lancet, but werent taken seriously by Karolinskas leadership. More than a decade ago, Macchiarini became a superstar in the field of medicine when he implanted the worlds first bioartificial windpipe, a plastic structure that used the patients stem cells to reduce the risk of organ rejection. Talking about her spouse Despite having a wife and a family, Paolo was in a public affair with the internet star Benita Alexandra. I can breathe, she was amazed to discover. However, its imperative to mention that the doctor has only been criminally found guilty of causing bodily harm to a single patient he operated on in Sweden back in 2011 two other charges of assault were dismissed. Probationwtf.he killed people knowing damn well that his trachea was bs! Likewise the whole idea of a wedding: Macchiarini was still married to his wife of 30 years. Largely confined to her Bronx apartment, she needed home health aides and had to quit her career as a social worker for pregnant women. And fooled almost everyone. They identified many problems with the way the twin organisations handled him. And it needs a blood supply to connect to the patients vascular system. As of late March, 6.5 percent of cells in the donor trachea were hers, with the proportion increasing, he said. Paolo was in the house, but he was not alone after Benita's friends were asked to leave, they noticed a blonde woman coming out of the house, with two young children. 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. Gretchen Vogel is a contributing correspondent for Science magazine based in Berlin, Germany. The transplants, performed on patients from the United States and other countries, were heralded as inaugurating a regenerative medicine revolution. Even the jewelry he had given her was Brazilian MMA fighters Swedish television broadcast a three-part expos of Paolo's work called Experimenten, which argued that the artificial windpipes did more harm than good and were actually rotting away inside his patients' bodies. Because immunosuppressant drugs are required to prevent rejection of the transplant, cancer patients would be eligible only if free of cancer for five years, Dr. Genden said. In the Not just that, Paolo was also entangled in several other controversies. With his methods still under fire in the West, he continues to work in Russia. Paolo Macchiarini: Surgeon convicted for fatal Swedish - BBC Its fascinating to rewatch as a lesson on how not to report on medical science. 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. COVID-19 Paolo Macchiarini 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. After realizing other treatment methods wouldnt help, he concluded that Ms. Sein had a logical, thoughtful grasp of transplantations risks and of her health condition. Pennsylvania But as the big day approached, Alexander saw these plans unravel, and finally realised that her lover had lied about almost everything. (The big exception is blood stem cell transplantation, which has been saving the lives of people with leukemia and other cancers of the blood for decades.). But the vice-chancellor of Karolinska Institute, Anders Hamsten, wasnt bound by this judgement. 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. Prosecutors dropped the case a few months later, however, saying they didnt have sufficient evidence to prove manslaughter.