If the sins of Karolinska have been committed elsewhere, it is partly because medical research facilities share a common milieu, which harbours common dangers. A version of this story appeared in Science, Vol 376, Issue 6600. Paolo stated in an interview with a TV station in Iceland that he has always acted in the patients' best interest, and believes that his procedures should be seen as successful. But colleagues suspected that Macchiarini was manipulating his results. Anyone can read what you share. 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. 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. Her global quest to find out the truth about the man who left her personal and professional life in shambles is documented in He Lied About Everything on Investigation Discovery. Unfortunately, though, she reportedly succumbed to her underlying disease in January of 2012. The court said the penalty was a suspended sentence, but did not specify how long the sentence would be if imposed. Despite having a wife and a family, Paolo was in a public affair with the internet star Benita Alexandra. 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. According to a witness report, Paolo operated on a 45-50-year-old woman of Middle Eastern origin in a private clinic in Barcelona in the fall of 2008. The Karolinska Institute declined to comment for this article, noting only that Dr. Macchiarinis sentence may be appealed. The different gender was important, allowing Dr. Genden to use chromosomal analysis to detect whether Ms. Seins cells populated the new trachea. As it turned out, Macchiarinis patients werent all at deaths door at the time he treated them. 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." 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. Karolinskas leadership expected big things from their superstar, things that would bring prestige and funding to the institute. It won Dr. Macchiarini international news coverage and cemented his place as a celebrity scientist. Now they were on the wedding guest list: the Obamas, the Clintons, Vladimir Putin, Nicolas Sarkozy and other world leaders. The apparent success of Ms. Seins operation is also notable because the trachea field has been rocked for years by a sensational scandal. The court had to apply the intentional indifference standard for the assault charges, he says, which is difficult to prove. The surgeons defense attorney, Bjrn Hurtig, said his client was considering an appeal. In early 2014, four Karolinska doctors defied the reigning culture of silence by complaining about Macchiarini. Macchiarini shot to prominence back in 2008, when he created a new airway for Claudia Castillo, a young woman from Barcelona. They identified many problems with the way the twin organisations handled him. In the first couple of years at Karolinska, he put plastic airways into three patients. Prosecutors asked for a five-year prison sentence for Macchiarinis liability in Cetirs bodily injury, but a Swedish court instead gave him a suspended sentence this June, deciding that he hadnt intended to cause the patients harm, according to BBC News. It must be lined with cilia, hairlike projections like shag carpeting that move and clean the air we breathe in, he said. His operation was on June 9, 2011, at the Karolinska University Hospital, where he received the upgraded plastic trachea made at University College London. Washington If we've learned anything from the COVID-19 pandemic, it's that we cannot wait for a crisis to respond. No one is more powerless than a patient with a disease, said Dr. Gerdin. Probationwtf.he killed people knowing damn well that his trachea was bs! By June 2013, when Paolo took Benita to Venice, Italy, for a romantic weekend, she knew she was falling madly in love. His recovery put Macchiarini on the front page of the New York Times. Georgia The Vatican confirmed that he had never been the Pope's doctor. Louisiana Woman Disappeared After Giving Somebody A Ride, 5 Things That Still Bother Us About The Unsolved Maura Murray Case, Two Texas Teens Left After Curfew In 1988 And Never Returned, What Happened To Zion Foster? 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. After Macchiarini fitted Cetir with one of his artificial windpipes in 2012, her condition worsened. I had a brave face, but I was scared, Ms. Sein said. 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. Its kind of a marginal substitute, and many patients need further interventions to maintain their airways.. 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. The couple had traveled a lot, but there were some things 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. There was another reason to be daunted too: historical assumptions that tracheas werent transplantable. A 19-year-old Iowa college student allegedly defrauded over 400 donors after raising more than $37,000 by faking a triple cancer diagnosis. "I have to tell people. 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. This was the start of a whirlwind romance that included five-star hotels, travel to far-flung locations, and extravagant shopping sprees. 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. According to hospital staff, she had roughly 40 near-death experiences during this time, the judgment said. It showed department heads and colleagues that they should give Macchiarini special treatment.He could do pretty much as he pleased. In their view, Macchiarini was certainly engaged in clinical research. We have, for example, a growing list of scientific celebrities who have committed major stem cell fraud. One was a 2-year-old girl named Hannah Warren, on whom hed operated in Peoria, IL, in 2013, according to Vanity Fair. Macchiarini, they claimed, wasnt really doing clinical research. The other side is flat and mobile to move air to the lungs. One biomedical researcher has documented a total of 20 tracheal regeneration procedures by Macchiarini in Russia, Spain, Britain, and the United States, as well as Sweden. In 2017, after another hospital said everything possible had been tried, she felt desperate. They planned to marry in the Catholic Church in Italy. Although all three patients eventually died, Dr. Macchiarini was not directly accused of killing them. Wasnt something of this idea behind the special treatment Karolinska gave Macchiarini? About 11 centimeters (4 inches) long, one side curves like a halfpipe, composed of cartilage rings and ligaments. Almost overnight, he became a superstar. He was eventually dismissed from Karolinska. 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). 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. At any rate, some of his most powerful friends were themselves Nobel judges until, with his fall from grace, they fell too. We were doing good research, but it didnt matter I thought I was going to lose my lab, my staff everything.. Its a problematic idea with unfortunate side effects. Get more great content like this delivered right to you! On Friday Mr. Hurtig declined to comment on Paolos private affairs.. 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Not only that, they later covered it up.. Macchiarini was turning the dream of regenerative medicine into a reality. Your tax-deductible contribution plays a critical role in sustaining this effort. Allegations also emerged that the risky procedure was performed on at least one person who was not critically ill at the time. What Is Benita Alexander Doing Now? She Was Conned The story portrayed Macchiarini, who was already married at the time, as a serial fabulist who exaggerated or lied about degrees, academic appointments, and Were going to show up and say, As a student, I had this idea on the back of a napkin and now were ready to go and if it fails, the patient dies and it becomes yet another example of some surgeon who thought he could solve a problem and hes created, instead, just the opposite.. Gerdins report, released in May 2015, concluded Macchiarini was guilty of misconduct, but university administrators rejected that conclusion 3 months later, arguing Macchinarini and his co-authors had satisfactorily countered the issues Gerdin raised. Not only that, they later covered it up.. Anyone can read what you share. He was born in Basel, Switzerland to Italian parents. Italian surgeon gets his sentence appealed in Sweden case In January 2016, Macchiarini received an extraordinary double dose of bad press. 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. Scientific pioneer, superstar surgeon, miracle worker thats how Paolo Macchiarini was known for several years. Most, including Andemariam Beyene, are now dead. The nine-centimeter transplant replaced all but two centimeters of her trachea. Castillo was soon back home, chasing after her kids. Euan Ward reported from London, and Christina Anderson from Bastad, Sweden. Delaeres damning criticisms appeared in major medical journals, including the Lancet, but werent taken seriously by Karolinskas leadership. Support for Macchiarini remained strong, even as his patients began to die. In 2011, Dr. Macchiarini, a renowned leader in the field of regenerative medicine, took the medical world by storm when he built and implanted the worlds first bioartificial windpipe. 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. She has since had the synthetic trachea removed. Journals retracted several of his studies. 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 He convinced the Karolinska Institute that this could make them famous, and they just let him do it. Thats what Macchiarini told his fiancee. From Confines Of Russia, Controversial Stem-Cell Surgeon The university board was dismissed and even Harriet Wallberg, whod moved on to become the chancellor for all Swedish universities, lost her job. Benita Alexander thought that she was living a real-life fairy tale when she met her fianc, Paolo Macchiarini. Paolo was a world-renowned surgeon who spoke six languages, mingled with the global elite, and resembled George Clooney. Any woman would swoon for such a catch! Brave CF The other patients were treated at hospitals in Barcelona, Florence, London, Moscow, Krasnodar, Chicago and Peoria. 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.. But of 20 patients, including children, most ultimately died, and scientists said Dr. Macchiarini misrepresented data and exaggerated his techniques effectiveness. Any woman would swoon for such a catch! 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. When Macchiarini accused one of them, Karl-Henrik Grinnemo, of stealing his work in a grant application, Hamsten found him guilty. In fact, the surgeon was still married to his wife of nearly 30 years. The court heard testimony in the case between 27 April and 12 May. ONE Championship Here are 13 more things about him: He married Pecchia in 1986. And it needs a blood supply to connect to the patients vascular system. Benita decided to get in touch with private investigator Frank Murphy. Macchiarinis fame had won him well-placed backers. Its enough to worry officials from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Articles in this area are retracted 2.4 times more often than the average for biomedicine, and over half of these retractions are due to fraud. Delaere was one of the earliest and harshest critics of Macchiarinis engineered airways. She remained in intensive care for more than three years at Karolinska University Hospital and underwent more than 200 surgical procedures. So did Karolinskas dean of research. Singapore Its like when you get on a rocket ship., At times, he felt in a dreamlike state, he said. Around the same time, an article in Vanity Fair described how Macchiarini had misled a girlfriendan NBC news producer working on a flattering documentary about his surgeriesinto thinking they would be married in a ceremony attended by the Clintons and Obamas and officiated by the pope. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Paolo Macchiarinis most notable patient is Claudia Castillo. They didnt even seek the approval of Stockholms ethical review board, which is based at Karolinska. We will send you a maximum of two emails in, We will be in touch to remind you to contribute. They allowed Macchiarini to continue his work as a visiting professor with a research lab. Remembering George Floyd: A year of protest. In 2013, the hospital halted future operations with synthetic trachea and opted to not extend Macchiarinis contract. He says, Ive created this bioreactor and its stem cells and it makes tracheas. And its huge., Dr. Genden said that when he and colleagues questioned Dr. Macchiarini at a conference early on, in his bigger-than-life way he says, This is ridiculous, you dont know what youre talking about, it functions beautifully., Dr. Genden thought his work had become obsolete, so you basically shut down the lab, he said. So, how much is Paolo Macchiarini worth at the age of 64 years old? These included Harriet Wallberg, who was the vice-chancellor of the Karolinska Institute in 2010, when Macchiarini was recruited. But hes lost his reputation, and thats more important.. 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. 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. He was one of the best con men I have ever come across. Meanwhile, Macchiarinis career soared. Subscribe to News from Science for full access to breaking news and analysis on research and science policy. Las Vegas Benita was also growing increasingly concerned, because she had not yet been introduced to Paolo's children or even seen where she was meant to live with him in Barcelona. She was wearing a blonde wig, and her nervous laughter is audible on the video they shot. However, he eventually found out about his previous associations. Paolo Macchiarini: Surgeon convicted for fatal Swedish - BBC Dr. Paolo Macchiarini became a star by creating a bioartificial windpipe. Also, in such a highly competitive environment, people are keen to show allegiance to their superiors and wary of criticising them. 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.. Called Experimenten (The Experiments), it argued convincingly that Macchiarinis artificial windpipes were not the life-saving wonders wed all been led to believe. She says she feels she has been given a chance of being alive one more time.. Family Seeks JusticeAfter Her Disappearance, Oregon Mother Of Four Who Was To Meet Up With Teen Son Suddenly Vanishes, Husband Of Missing Massachusetts Woman Charged With Her Murder, 8 Things To Know About The Nicholas Barclay Disappearance And Ensuing Deception, I'm Still Searching For My Baby: Georgia Mother Hopes For Answers In Daughters Disappearance, A Woman Disappeared From A Group Hike And Was Never Seen Again. "If I made a checklist of what I wanted a man to be, he had everything.". Few people at Karolinska, especially among those in power, knew enough about it to appreciate Delaeres claims. 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.. Benita Alexander and Paolo Macchiarini in Venice, Italy [Investigation Discovery]. The Karolinska University Hospital suspended Dr. Macchiarinis contract as a surgeon in 2013, but the affiliated Karolinska Institute kept him on until 2016 even as the scandal over his work spread, according to a timeline on the institutes website. 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 verdict is the latest development in Macchiarinis stunning fall from grace. They also cited a loophole known as compassionate use. Alexander started a problem with the specialist at this time. Paolo Macchiarini, Star Surgeon, Loses Court Ruling in Sweden (The patient who survived had the implant removed.). Please make a tax-deductible gift today. Dr. Genden said some scientists told him Youre out of your mind because trying a transplant would risk his reputation. Hwang, Obokata and Macchiarini were all attracted to the hottest regions of stem cell research, where hope for a medical breakthrough was greatest. Death Season 2, Mandy Moore Joins Dr. A review of public records in Italy found that Paolo was never divorced from Emanuela Pecchia, his wife of nearly 30 years. A surgeon who just a decade ago was celebrated around the globe as a pioneer in stem cell transplants has been convicted of one count of causing bodily harm, a felony, in a Swedish court. In the same year, he earned his medical degree from the, In 1989, he took a course on statistics in clinical research at, In 1994, he obtained a masters degree certificate in organ and tissue transplantation from the, From 2006 to 2009, he was an investigator at the, In June 2008, he performed a trachea transplant on, He performed a synthetic trachea transplant on, In 2012, he was charged in Italy with attempted aggravated fraud.