paolo macchiarini wife of 30 years

Paolo Macchiarini, in a 2013 photo, implanted synthetic windpipes into multiple patients; all but one died following complications with the implants. Scientific pioneer, superstar surgeon, miracle worker thats how Paolo Macchiarini was known for several years. "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. She remained in intensive care for more than three years at Karolinska University Hospital and underwent more than 200 surgical procedures. The pope, the palace, the world leaders, the famous tenor they were all fantasies. They also questioned whether Macchiarini had obtained proper ethical permission for the surgeries and challenged a paper describing animal experiments with the technique. In the months and years following their respective surgeries, all of them except Dmitri Onogda have passed away due to post-operative complications. Hes clearly bright and has accomplishments, but he cant contain himself. It is unclear whether Dr. Macchiarini is still practicing medicine, but his lawyer said in May that he had no income. Dr. Genden also transplanted the cricoid, cartilage cuffing the trachea, supplanting Ms. Seins completely destroyed cricoid. Benita Alexander on attending Paolo Macchiarinis criminal trial in Sweden Alexander said she attended Macchiarini's trial for closure, seven years after she was 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. While there isnt enough data to actually prove this, we do have some key indicators. She told CrimeFeed that, looking back, it seemed odd to her she had not met many of Paolo's close friends in Barcelona. 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. In the 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. 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. 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. And difficult to jump off. Dr. Genden said Dr. Macchiarinis rise and fall profoundly affected his own path. The Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm. 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. Macchiarini, they claimed, wasnt really doing clinical research. 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. New York City Help News from Science publish trustworthy, high-impact stories about research and the people who shape it. Sorry we couldn't set a reminder for you this time. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. 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. Gerdin determined that Macchiarini committed scientific misconduct, but leadership at the Karolinska Institute ignored the findings and cleared Macchiarini. With his methods still under fire in the West, he continues to work in Russia. Meanwhile, Macchiarinis career soared. Emanuela Pecchia (Paolo Macchiarani's Wife), Bio, Age & More 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. Who Were Paolo Macchiarinis Victims? - The Cinemaholic Benita Alexander and Paolo Macchiarini [Investigation Discovery]. The couple had traveled a lot, but there were some things The fact that he could keep all the details straight and compartmentalize these different lives and lies is really amazing.. Brazil Unfortunately, due to complications, she passed away either around Christmas of that year or in the first few months of 2009. It is thus likely she has since passed away. Paolo Macchiarini was amazingly accomplished, stunningly successful, and fabulously rich. As it turned out, Macchiarinis patients werent all at deaths door at the time he treated them. 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. 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. The case is pending. 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. Gerdin says the conviction on one count still shows that health care doesnt stand above the law. Was he conning his patients, his colleagues and the scientific community? By this year, Dr. Genden said, her condition had deteriorated so that if we delay further, its not going to work out.. As Selena ran from the room, Yolanda Saldivar shot her in the back. 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. Most protagonists on medical dramas are modern-day heroes. But hes lost his reputation, and thats more important.. They identified many problems with the way the twin organisations handled him. The donor was a young man (identifying details are being withheld to protect privacy). Filipino MMA fighters ONE Super Series Please make a tax-deductible gift today. When the blood vessels were finally connected, the donor trachea began bleeding. Does the heat of stem cell research the high levels of funding, prestige and media coverage it enjoys somehow encourage fraud? In this episode, eyewitnesses, officials, and some of Paolos victims thus reveal how they got conned by him, with his former lover television producer Benita Alexander at the front and center. In 2013, the hospital halted future operations with synthetic trachea and opted to not extend Macchiarinis contract. Death Season 2, Mandy Moore Joins Dr. Delaere feels the sentence is too light for what he considers a serious crime. A genius is a revolutionary by definition, a risk-taker and a law-breaker. They exchange their vows in Italy. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. In the first couple of years at Karolinska, he put plastic airways into three patients. 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. 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 is known for his research fraud and manipulative behavior. He is still licensed to practice medicine in Europe. Talking about her spouse 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. Learn how your comment data is processed. A good example is the NBC documentary A Leap of Faith. The verdict is the latest development in Macchiarinis stunning fall from grace. 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. I didnt want the fairy tale to end., Alexander also hired a private investigator, a former Pennsylvania State Police detective named Frank Murphy. Likewise, they didnt undertake a proper risk assessment of the procedure, nor did Macchiarinis team seek government permits for the plastic windpipes, stem cells, and chemical growth factors they used. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. As per There was another reason to be daunted too: historical assumptions that tracheas werent transplantable. 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. Andrea Bocelli was to sing at the ceremony. US Capitol Also, in such a highly competitive environment, people are keen to show allegiance to their superiors and wary of criticising them. After being dismissed from the institute, he worked at the Kazan Federal University in Kazan, Russia. Michigan Benita fell for Macchiarini while a producer for NBC, working on a story on him in 2013. 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 It would be a star-studded event. Next month, she will turn 57. Countless news stories declared it a medical breakthrough. The nine-centimeter transplant replaced all but two centimeters of her trachea. The Italian surgeon and his Italian wife Emanuela Pecchia have one son and one daughter. Though Macchiarini was in the public eye, he was able to sidestep the usual rules and regulations. Benita told CrimeFeed that Paolo always paid for everything and was "extremely generous." 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. Minnesota We would have been planning my funeral, she said, but now were planning a birthday party.. He convinced the Karolinska Institute that this could make them famous, and they just let him do it. The surgeons defense attorney, Bjrn Hurtig, said his client was considering an appeal. In his case, his stem cells were seeded into the airway just hours before it was implanted into him, making it work perfectly fine. In 2010, the Italian surgeon was recruited by KIhome of the committee that awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. She would later discover that the woman in Barcelona had been living with Paolo for years, but that there were several other women in his life as well. However, he eventually found out about his previous associations. 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. Here are 13 more things about him: He married Pecchia in 1986. Dr. Paolo Macchiarini became a star by creating a bioartificial windpipe. In Macchiarinis case, the hope was that patients could be treated with stem cells taken from their own bone marrow. 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. He could see no real evidence that the windpipe scaffolds were becoming living, functioning airways in which case, they were destined to fail. On the contrary, they seemed to do more harm than good something that Macchiarini had for years concealed or downplayed in his scientific articles, press releases and interviews. As Grinnemo recalls, it nearly destroyed his career: I didnt receive any new grants. Unfortunately, the scandal is much bigger than Karolinska, which accounts for only three of the patients who have received Macchiarinis regenerating windpipes. I cant do this anymore, Sonia Sein told herself, her family and her doctor. On Friday Mr. Hurtig declined to comment on Paolos private affairs.. Ive never in my experience witnessed a fraud like this, with this level of international flair, Murphy told Vanity Fair. However, the serious complications that Castillo suffered were, for a long time, kept very quiet. 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. 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. At the time, Macchiarini was working at Swedens Karolinska Institute, which awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine every year. The Karolinska Institute, alleging scientific misconduct, dismissed Dr. Macchiarini, who has long denied wrongdoing. Kentucky Paolo Macchiarini at a press conference in 2008. 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. Benita Alexander Before their wedding, the But it did not work, and a court in Sweden has found him criminally liable for the harm Macchiarinis argument that KI fully supported and encouraged the surgeries likely swayed the judges as well, he says. Reports of their success always seemed like hot air to him. Most, including Andemariam Beyene, are now dead. 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. She pushed through his appointment despite the fact that he had some very negative references and dubious claims on his rsum. Probationwtf.he killed people knowing damn well that his trachea was bs! However, behind closed doors, Dr. Macchiarini was hiding a secret the procedures were not working. Dr. Genden examines the new trachea by inserting a scope in a hole he left in her neck, which hell eventually close. Despite having a wife and a family, Paolo was in a public affair with the internet star Benita Alexandra. This thing came to life, Dr. Genden marveled, and we were like, Holy smokes, weve done it.. This argument didnt wash with those who later investigated the case. 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. In part, this is because the field of windpipe repair is a niche area. surgeon's personal and professional lives converged The story portrayed Macchiarini, who was already married at the time, as a serial fabulist who exaggerated or lied about degrees, academic appointments, and Castillo was soon back home, chasing after her kids. Alexander said that Macchiarini told her he was still married to his wife because they were Catholic but were separated. All but one died following severe complications with the implants. He opened and cleaned out the donors esophagus, laying it against Ms. Seins esophagus. 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. Any woman would swoon for such a catch! She visits Mount Sinai weekly for blood work. 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. 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. Instead, they found him guilty of negligence and the lesser charge of causing bodily harm. His findings at the time concluded that Dr. Macchiarini had committed scientific misconduct, but this was ultimately ignored by the universitys leadership who chose to clear the Italian surgeon. The court said the penalty was a suspended sentence, but did not specify how long the sentence would be if imposed. Macchiarini gave his regenerating windpipes to 17 or more patients worldwide. Although the difference in his birthplace, he is known to be an Italian by his nationality. 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. Benita Alexander wearing a wig as she tracked down Paolo in Barcelona [Investigation Discovery]. This was Macchiarinis first big success. And it needs a blood supply to connect to the patients vascular system. But in October 2017, the attorney general's office announced that a crime could not be proven, because the patients might have died anyway. They didnt. After several weeks in recovery, she is home. 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 transplants, performed on patients from the United States and other countries, were heralded as inaugurating a regenerative medicine revolution. 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. 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.. Washington Hundreds of Americans are estimated to die each year because techniques like stents, surgery or lasers cannot heal their damaged tracheas, and they suffocate when airways narrow dangerously or collapse. Paolo Macchiarini Miss Universe 2021 In late 2014, four doctors in Sweden accused him of fraud, saying that he'd falsified data in six of the papers he had published. Then, in October of 2009, another woman, who had been operated on by Paolo twice before, received her airway transplant. Dressed in a white lab coat or in surgical scrubs, with his broad, handsome face and easy charm, he certainly looked the part. The vice-chancellor, Anders Hamsten, resigned. 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. Delaere was one of the earliest and harshest critics of Macchiarinis engineered airways. The scandal meant theres an amazing amount of scrutiny, he said. This went on for three years until, just recently, Grinnemo was cleared of all wrongdoing. Hwang, Obokata and Macchiarini were all attracted to the hottest regions of stem cell research, where hope for a medical breakthrough was greatest. All rights reserved. Paolo Macchiarini A panel of judges unanimously ruled that the interventions were not in accordance with science and proven experience, according to a statement released today. Abu Dhabi And because it was built from Castillos own cells, she didnt need to be on any risky immunosuppressant drugs. The next morning, with the donor and Ms. Sein in adjacent rooms, a team of over 50 medical personnel assembled. Over the years, this possibility has generated great excitement and a huge amount of research. She remained conscious and awake throughout most of them, but unable to breathe. Last year, however, the dream soured, exposing an ugly reality. 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.. 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. Ground-breaking work on synthetic organ transplants made Paolo Macchiarini one of the most famous doctors in the world. What comes next after Texas school shooting? Not only that, they later covered it up.. In their view, Macchiarini was certainly engaged in clinical research. Likewise the whole idea of a wedding: Macchiarini was still married to his wife of 30 years. Its fascinating to rewatch as a lesson on how not to report on medical science. Metro None have been forced to hold full and independent inquiries. No one is more powerless than a patient with a disease, said Dr. Gerdin. Journals retracted several of his studies. What Is Benita Alexander Doing Now? She Was Conned For the respect of privacy, his wifes identity is not revealed on the internet. It won Dr. Macchiarini international news coverage and cemented his place as a celebrity scientist. But on Thursday, the surgeon, Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, was found criminally liable by a Swedish court for causing felony bodily injury to a patient he had fitted with one of the windpipes at a medical university in Sweden. February 28, 2022 Emanuela Pecchia is famously known as the wife of popular Swiss-born Italian thoracic surgeon, Paolo Macchiarini. But colleagues suspected that Macchiarini was manipulating his results. The other side is flat and mobile to move air to the lungs. After Macchiarini fitted Cetir with one of his artificial windpipes in 2012, her condition worsened. COVID-19 None of these institutions have faced the same kind of public scrutiny. Its a problematic idea with unfortunate side effects. 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. Plus: A Chicago mother is arrested in connection to the murder of her 6-year-old son; the convicted killer Robert Durst dies at age 78; Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes sentencing date is set; and an LGBTQ+ rights movement hero is found dead in a Florida landfill. Benita Alexander and Paolo Macchiarini in Venice, Italy [Investigation Discovery]. By June 2013, when Paolo took Benita to Venice, Italy, for a romantic weekend, she knew she was falling madly in love. 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? She has since had the synthetic trachea removed. Guided by several mentors, he delved into research and animal experiments, developing a transplant approach. The court had to apply the intentional indifference standard for the assault charges, he says, which is difficult to prove. The answer came only a couple of weeks later, when Swedish television began broadcasting a three-part expos of Macchiarini and his work. 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. The mild sentence comes as a disappointment to Macchiarinis critics. Illinois They planned to marry in the Catholic Church in Italy. They reopened the case in 2020, this time charging Macchiarini on lesser counts of aggravated assault and severe bodily harm. Award-winning documentary-maker Benita Alexander was swept off her feet by renowned Italian doctor Paolo Macchiarini in 2013 while she was working on a story about his pioneering medical work. Disgraced Italian surgeon convicted of criminal harm to stem cell patient. But it did not work, and a court in Sweden has found him criminally liable for the harm inflicted on a patient. We will send you a maximum of two emails in, We will be in touch to remind you to contribute. Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. 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