Kentucky But, he added, Its an indirect technique. It takes time and can replace only the tracheas halfpipe side, so its not a complete tube.. According to Macchiarini and his colleagues, her artificial organ was well on the way to looking and functioning liked a natural one. Greys Anatomy Alum Isaiah Washington Retires from Acting, Tom Sizemore, Saving Private Ryan Star, Dies at 61, Chris Rock Live on Netflix, No Salvation on Last of Us, A World Without Bart Simpson, Kids Choice Awards, Rachael Ray Ending After 17 Seasons: Its Time for Me to Move On, Enver Gjokaj Returns as Captain Milius on NCIS: Hawaii, Copyright 2023 NTVB Media, Inc., All Rights Reserved, Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence, Luke Kirby, Ashley Madekwe & More Join Dr. Only three are still alive as of September 2020. The court had to apply the intentional indifference standard for the assault charges, he says, which is difficult to prove. 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. Any woman would swoon for such a catch! https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/health/trachea-transplant-genden.html. Dr. Genden examines the new trachea by inserting a scope in a hole he left in her neck, which hell eventually close. Benita was also growing concerned about the cost of the wedding. You can see this in the speed with which his breakthroughs were accepted. (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 as the big day approached, Alexander saw these plans unravel, and finally realised that her lover had lied about almost everything. A year later, he began to implant synthetic windpipes seeded with stem cells isolated from the patients own bone marrow, claiming the cells would grow and integrate with the patients tissue. After Macchiarini fitted Cetir with one of his artificial windpipes in 2012, her condition worsened. When Macchiarini accused one of them, Karl-Henrik Grinnemo, of stealing his work in a grant application, Hamsten found him guilty. In 2013, the hospital halted future operations with synthetic trachea and opted to not extend Macchiarinis contract. Unfortunately, though, she reportedly succumbed to her underlying disease in January of 2012. Emanuela Pecchia is married to Paolo Macchiarini for over 30 years. Anyone can read what you share. My wife was the one who said, If you truly believe that people are dying from this and that you could maybe make a difference, you cant just fold up and go home, he said. 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. This set a dangerous example. Tokyo 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. In fact, the surgeon was still married to his wife of nearly 30 years. Not only that, they later covered it up.. He was born in Basel, Switzerland to Italian parents. 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. 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. Dr. Genden said some scientists told him Youre out of your mind because trying a transplant would risk his reputation. We now know that wasnt true. She visits Mount Sinai weekly for blood work. 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. Paolo Macchiarini is a thoracic surgeon. Some answers have emerged from the official inquiries into the Karolinska Institute and the Karolinska University hospital. She told CrimeFeed that, looking back, it seemed odd to her she had not met many of Paolo's close friends in Barcelona. A life-saver and a game-changer. They didnt. 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. In place of clinical data, there are gushing testimonials. (LogOut/ And in 2014, four Karolinska University Hospital doctors filed two separate reports claiming that Macchiarinis scientific papers described exaggerated the positive results of the operations and incorrectly describe[d] the postoperative status of the patients and the functionality of the implant, the timeline says. 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! As per Unfortunately, due to complications, she passed away either around Christmas of that year or in the first few months of 2009. Every patient had another, nonlethal option, Pierre Delaere, a trachea expert at KU Leuven and an early critic of Macchiarini, said in an email to Science. Therefore, of all the medically ill individuals Paolo has ever provided a biological or synthetic implant to, at least 8 of them allegedly died due to his misconduct in research, failure to provide proper post-operative care, and/or his disregard for ethical practices. The couple set a date: July 11, 2015. Each new scientific discovery brings a flood of stories about how it will revolutionise medicine one day soon. One of these is the hype surrounding stem cells. By the time the program aired, in mid-2014, the couple were planning their marriage. 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? Get more great content like this delivered right to you! Ultimate Fighting Championship Yet because of the ensuing complications, she had to receive a tracheoplasty in April 2011 and another cadaveric trachea graft in 2018. Death Season 2, Mandy Moore Joins Dr. It would be a star-studded event. Benita Alexander and Paolo Macchiarini [Investigation Discovery]. We have, for example, a growing list of scientific celebrities who have committed major stem cell fraud. 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. Why are people hesitant to trust a COVID-19 vaccine? 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.. Alexander admits that, at the time, she was in a vulnerable place. But that, and the fact that he had multiple cell phones for different countries, she chalked up to his demanding job and constant international travel. US Capitol If she talked for over five minutes, she had to stop because I couldnt breathe.. We have estimated Paolo Macchiarini's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets. Largely confined to her Bronx apartment, she needed home health aides and had to quit her career as a social worker for pregnant women. Source: ABC Article continues below advertisement His relationship with Benita, At night, when she connected her tracheal tube to a ventilator, the alarm kept going off to let people know that I stopped breathing, said Ms. Sein, who hated causing her family concern. 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. According to Pierre Delaere, a professor of respiratory surgery at KU Leuven, Belgium, Macchiarinis experiments were bound to end badly. Its very exciting, said Dr. G. Alexander Patterson, a professor of surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, who was not involved in the case. But it did not work, and a court in Sweden has found him criminally liable for the harm 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. At first, they just connected as friends. ONE Super Series Her transformation follows a groundbreaking experimental procedure she underwent in January: the first time, medical experts believe, a donor trachea has been successfully directly transplanted into another person. For the respect of privacy, his wifes identity is not revealed on the internet. They shared a happy relationship. Reports of their success always seemed like hot air to him. A White House source confirmed that Bill Clinton had never met Paolo. 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. The 18-hour procedure, conceived and led by Dr. Eric M. Genden Sr., chairman of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, is a milestone because unlike kidneys, hearts and lungs the trachea has defied decades of transplantation attempts. According to The New York Times, Macchiarini is an Italian surgeon who was found criminally liable this June for causing felony bodily injury to a Turkish woman named Yesim Cetir, a patient who had received one of his 3D-printed windpipes and later died. Guided by a high-powered microscope, he used surgical thread half the diameter of a human hair. 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.. Two investigations, one by the Karolinska Institute and one by Karolinska University Hospital, both found that problems with Dr. Macchiarinis work had been covered up. Bangkok Macchiarini was fired in 2016 amid allegations of fraud and scientific misconduct after many of his transplant recipients died. 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. The other side is flat and mobile to move air to the lungs. That drama began about a decade ago when Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, working at Swedens famed Karolinska Institute, garnered headlines and accolades for replacing damaged tracheas with plastic tubes seeded with patients stem cells that he cultivated in devices called bioreactors. The first person to receive one of these was Andemariam Beyene, an Eritrean doctoral student in geology at the University of Iceland. Unfortunately, the scandal is much bigger than Karolinska, which accounts for only three of the patients who have received Macchiarinis regenerating windpipes. He has been convicted of research-related crimes in Italy and Sweden. 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. The Italian surgeon and his Italian wife Emanuela Pecchia have one son and one daughter. The answer came only a couple of weeks later, when Swedish television began broadcasting a three-part expos of Macchiarini and his work. Sonia Sein, outside her Bronx home, had irreparable damage to her trachea. The Karolinska Institute declined to comment for this article, noting only that Dr. Macchiarinis sentence may be appealed. Instead, they found him guilty of negligence and the lesser charge of causing bodily harm. Remembering George Floyd: A year of protest. However, Swedish TV reporters also decided to take a close look at Macchiarinis work. 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. Previously considered a pioneer for using both biological and synthetic scaffolds Eduard Folayang COVID-19 It won Dr. Macchiarini international news coverage and cemented his place as a celebrity scientist. Washington Thailand Powered by WordPress.com VIP. So, as per the last reports, he is alive and well today. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Kevin Belingon 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. 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. Philippines Ohio WebIn reality, Paolo had not worked with the Pope, and he was still married to his wife of 30 years. Likewise the whole idea of a wedding: Macchiarini was still married to his wife of 30 years. Although all three patients eventually died, Dr. Macchiarini was not directly accused of killing them. Records show that even with his implant failing, Andemariam was able to complete his Ph.D. before his demise in January 2013. 2nd Impeachment Trial: What this could mean for Trump, Presidential transition of power: Examined, How Donald Trump spent his last days as president, How Joe Biden's inauguration will be different from previous years, Trump challenges the vote and takes legal action, 2020s DNC and RNC are different than any before, Power Trip: Those Who Seek Power and Those Who Chase Them, Leave No Trace: A Hidden History of the Boy Scouts, Keeper of the Ashes: The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders, The Orphans of COVID: America's Hidden Toll, X / o n e r a t e d - The Murder of Malcolm X and 55 Years to Justice, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Ground-breaking work on synthetic organ transplants made Paolo Macchiarini one of the most famous doctors in the world. 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. Brave CF "I started thinking that if this man is lying to me at such an egregious level, theres no way hes not doing this in his medical life," she told CrimeFeed. 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? Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? In his case, his stem cells were seeded into the airway just hours before it was implanted into him, making it work perfectly fine. But when Dr. Sander S. Florman, director of Mount Sinais Transplantation Institute, and LiveOnNY, a nonprofit organ donation organization, agreed to collaborate, his wife, Audrey, encouraged him. The popular press also has a lot to answer for. Pennsylvania Another was a Russian mother named Julia Tuulik, per BBC News. Benita said that, if she can take any lessons away from what happened to her, she hopes that her experience will help others. As Selena ran from the room, Yolanda Saldivar shot her in the back. Likewise the secretary-general of the Nobel Committee. He is still licensed to practice medicine in Europe. 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Macchiarini has consistently claimed he is innocent. 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. They planned to marry in the Catholic Church in Italy. Meanwhile, Macchiarinis career soared. Keep up with your favorite shows delivered to your inbox! Talking about her spouse Next month, she will turn 57. The verdict is the latest development in Macchiarinis stunning fall from grace. Dont yet have access? In such dire circumstances, new treatments can be tried as a last resort. Its love of human interest stories makes it sympathetic to unproven therapies. Andrea Bocelli was to sing at the ceremony. As Grinnemo recalls, it nearly destroyed his career: I didnt receive any new grants. Alexander started a problem with the specialist at this time. Any replacement trachea must be rigid or itll collapse like a straw in a McDonalds milkshake, Dr. Genden said. Journals retracted several of his studies. In Sweden, both the defense and the prosecution can appeal rulings, and senior prosecutor Karin Lundstrm-Kron says she and her colleagues will decide in the coming weeks. Also, in such a highly competitive environment, people are keen to show allegiance to their superiors and wary of criticising them. Benita Alexander thought that she was living a real-life fairy tale when she met her fianc, Paolo Macchiarini. Yet, for the vast majority of such treatments, there is little solid evidence that they work. Paolo Macchiarinis income source is mostly from being a successful . Illinois All rights reserved. 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.. In 2019, an Italian court said he had forged documents and abused his position, charges unrelated to his trachea work. Emanuela Pecchia has been married to Paolo Macchiarini for over 30 years. Benita decided to get in touch with private investigator Frank Murphy. 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. It is fitting that Macchiarinis career unravelled at the Karolinska Institute. Investigations by the hospital and the Karolinska Institute revealed that issues with Dr. Macchiarinis work had been covered up. But Benita, at the time an award-winning investigative news producer for NBC, had no way of knowing that, by the end of her love story, her heart would be broken and many of Paolo's patients who received the "miracle" transplants would be dead. He was eventually dismissed from Karolinska. Paolo Macchiarinis most notable patient is Claudia Castillo. So in 2010, Paolo operated on her at the National Research Center of Surgery in Moscow. Besides which, compassionate concerns dont override the basic principles of patient safety and informed consent. Benita Alexander with one of the custom-made gowns intended for her wedding [Investigation Discovery]. He opened and cleaned out the donors esophagus, laying it against Ms. Seins esophagus. KI commissioned surgeon Bengt Gerdin, a professor emeritus at Uppsala University, to investigate the issue. She soon went into full-on investigative journalist mode, and learned that Paolo had, yup lied about everything. Delaeres damning criticisms appeared in major medical journals, including the Lancet, but werent taken seriously by Karolinskas leadership. 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. Benita first met Paolo at the bar at Bostons Mandarin Oriental hotel in February 2013, when she was helping coordinate an interview for an NBC special on regenerative medicine. The theory was simple: let the body do most of the work. 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. Ive never in my experience witnessed a fraud like this, with this level of international flair, Murphy told Vanity Fair. She was wearing a blonde wig, and her nervous laughter is audible on the video they shot. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. 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. Her friends described him as "Mr. Big" from Sex and the City. They allowed Macchiarini to continue his work as a visiting professor with a research lab. 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. But even if his days had been numbered, this didnt necessarily justify what Macchiarini put him through. Over the years, this possibility has generated great excitement and a huge amount of research. 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. These included Harriet Wallberg, who was the vice-chancellor of the Karolinska Institute in 2010, when Macchiarini was recruited. Which left a big, burning question in the air: if Macchiarini was a pathological liar in matters of love, what about his medical research? Called Experimenten (The Experiments), it argued convincingly that Macchiarinis artificial windpipes were not the life-saving wonders wed all been led to believe. WebPaolo Macchiarini Net Worth. He was one of the best con men I have ever come across. But in October 2017, the attorney general's office announced that a crime could not be proven, because the patients might have died anyway. In 2016, Vanity Fair published an expose on Paolo that uncovered even more damning evidence. As of late March, 6.5 percent of cells in the donor trachea were hers, with the proportion increasing, he said. The official report into the matter dubbed this the bandwagon effect. 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. He convinced the Karolinska Institute that this could make them famous, and they just let him do it. Selena died in a hospital due to a loss of blood and cardiac arrest, two weeks before her 24th birthday. Beyenes death two and a half years after the operation, caused by the failure of his artificial airway, was a grueling ordeal. Now they were on the wedding guest list: the Obamas, the Clintons, Vladimir Putin, Nicolas Sarkozy and other world leaders. In Macchiarinis case, the hope was that patients could be treated with stem cells taken from their own bone marrow. Almost immediately after she was fitted with a synthetic trachea in August 2012, Ms. Cetirs condition began to rapidly deteriorate, according to the courts written judgment. 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.
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