Paolo Macchiarini was amazingly accomplished, stunningly successful, and fabulously rich. 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. Macchiarini, who denied the charges against him, wasnt directly accused of killing any of the three patients. Macchiarini, they claimed, wasnt really doing clinical research. The donor was a young man (identifying details are being withheld to protect privacy). 2023 Warner Bros. He opened and cleaned out the donors esophagus, laying it against Ms. Seins esophagus. In other countries, more of Macchiarinis patients died after receiving one of his artificial windpipes. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. The Karolinska Institute was seduced by Macchiarini, said Dr. Gerdin. The secret sauce in his approach, he said, is transplanting not just the donor trachea but also its attached esophagus (food tube), thyroid gland and thyroid arteries. 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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. And because it was built from Castillos own cells, she didnt need to be on any risky immunosuppressant drugs. On May 13, Alexander left her job. It must be lined with cilia, hairlike projections like shag carpeting that move and clean the air we breathe in, he said. 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. 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. Dr. Genden said some scientists told him Youre out of your mind because trying a transplant would risk his reputation. 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. Largely confined to her Bronx apartment, she needed home health aides and had to quit her career as a social worker for pregnant women. ONE Championship Disgraced Italian surgeon convicted of criminal harm to stem cell patient. 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. 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. Although the difference in his birthplace, he is known to be an Italian by his nationality. The answer came only a couple of weeks later, when Swedish television began broadcasting a three-part expos of Macchiarini and his work. She pushed through his appointment despite the fact that he had some very negative references and dubious claims on his rsum. Help News from Science publish trustworthy, high-impact stories about research and the people who shape it. 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. However, behind closed doors, Dr. Macchiarini was hiding a secret the procedures were not working. One was a 2-year-old girl named Hannah Warren, on whom hed operated in Peoria, IL, in 2013, according to Vanity Fair. That drama began about a decade ago when Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, working at Swedens famed Karolinska Institute, garnered headlines and accolades for replacing 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. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) Swedish prosecutors on Wednesday appealed a sentence given to an Italian surgeon who was put on trial for causing bodily harm during experimental stem-cell windpipe transplants on three patients who died. February 28, 2022 Emanuela Pecchia is famously known as the wife of popular Swiss-born Italian thoracic surgeon, Paolo Macchiarini. A version of this story appeared in Science, Vol 376, Issue 6600. For the respect of privacy, his wifes identity is not revealed on the internet. The scandal meant theres an amazing amount of scrutiny, he said. In 2015, the Karolinska Institute hired an independent investigator named Dr. Bengt Gerdin to look into the Macchiarini situation, per the Times. The theory was simple: let the body do most of the work. In such dire circumstances, new treatments can be tried as a last resort. Instead of stripping the cells from donor windpipes, Macchiarini had plastic scaffolds made to order. Every year, it gives science a show-business makeover, picking out from the mass of medical researchers those individuals deserving of superstardom. So in 2010, Paolo operated on her at the National Research Center of Surgery in Moscow. The court had to apply the intentional indifference standard for the assault charges, he says, which is difficult to prove. The couple had traveled a lot, but there were some things 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. Cardiothoracic surgeon Matthias Corbascio, one of Macchiarinis former colleagues at KI who first raised questions about the work, describes it as terrible and insane. The court basically gave him a slap on the wrist, says Corbascio, who is now at the University of Copenhagen. Tokyo He officially cleared Macchiarini of scientific misconduct, allowing merely that hed sometimes acted without due care. So far he has not been prosecuted in any of those countries. New York Anyone can read what you share. Please try again later. She remained in intensive care for more than three years at Karolinska University Hospital and underwent more than 200 surgical procedures. The popular press also has a lot to answer for. Stem-cell scientist Dr. Paolo Macchiarini was accused of wrongdoing during operations on three people between 2011 and 2014. 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. He was handsome, suave, and a charmer. Another was a Russian mother named Julia Tuulik, per BBC News. As studies have shown, the media often casts a positive light on stem cell tourism, suggesting that the treatments are effective and the risks low. In place of clinical data, there are gushing testimonials. 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. Virginia Benita Alexander Before their wedding, the Macchiarini was turning the dream of regenerative medicine into a reality. Benita Alexander wearing a wig as she tracked down Paolo in Barcelona [Investigation Discovery]. New Jersey She told CrimeFeed that, looking back, it seemed odd to her she had not met many of Paolo's close friends in Barcelona. 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. So, as per the last reports, he is alive and well today. Georgia Teen Vanished In South Carolina, Search Continues For North Carolina Girl, 11, Whose Parents Didnt Report Her Missing For Weeks, Where Is Ella Goodie? The story portrayed Macchiarini, who was already married at the time, as a serial fabulist who exaggerated or lied about degrees, academic appointments, and personal accomplishments. Los Angeles Benita Alexander thought that she was living a real-life fairy tale when she met her fianc, Paolo Macchiarini. There was another reason to be daunted too: historical assumptions that tracheas werent transplantable. 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. 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. The media began calling him "Dr. Frankenstein" and said that he committed "the world's biggest medical fraud.". Andemariam Beyene, for instance, had recurrent cancer of the windpipe but, aside from a cough, was still in good health. Andemariam Beyene met up with Macchiarini in Iceland a year after his operation but later died Two more patients were also given transplants at the Karolinska Recently, Ms. Sein, covering the hole with her hand to speak, enthused about having the energy to cook sesame chicken for the first time and how she aims to visit relatives in Puerto Rico. 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. But for now, lets focus solely on his medical patients, shall we? Coming from different countries including Eritrea, Spain, Russian, Iceland, Britain and the United States, 20 patients were operated on by Macchiarini, who provide them with an artificial windpipe. The couple had traveled extensively, but there were a 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. As of late March, 6.5 percent of cells in the donor trachea were hers, with the proportion increasing, he said. About 11 centimeters (4 inches) long, one side curves like a halfpipe, composed of cartilage rings and ligaments. 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. Macchiarinis fame had won him well-placed backers. Most, including Andemariam Beyene, are now dead. Likewise the whole idea of a wedding: Macchiarini was still married to his wife of 30 years. Change). In 2017, prosecutors in Sweden charged Macchiarini with manslaughter in connection with the three patients who had received transplants at KI in 2011 and 2012, all of whom had died: Andemariam Teklesenbet Beyene, a graduate student from Eritrea with a slow-growing cancer obstructing his windpipe; Christopher Lyles, a 30-year-old American with tracheal cancer; and Yesim Cetir, a teenager from Turkey whose trachea had been accidentally damaged during a previous surgery. Macchiarinis lawyer declined to comment to Swedish media today about whether his client would appeal. February 28, 2022 Emanuela Pecchia is famously known as the wife of popular Swiss-born Italian thoracic surgeon, Paolo Macchiarini. In January 2016, Macchiarini received an extraordinary double dose of bad press. But, he added, Its an indirect technique. It takes time and can replace only the tracheas halfpipe side, so its not a complete tube.. After being dismissed from the institute, he worked at the Kazan Federal University in Kazan, Russia. In the case of Cetir, he should have known the risk of complications was higher than the expected benefit, the judges ruled. 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. Their devastating documentary, which aired in January 2016, led KI officials to reopen the investigation. China Hes clearly bright and has accomplishments, but he cant contain himself. 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. Florida He convinced the Karolinska Institute that this could make them famous, and they just let him do it. How we can build a clean and renewable future. 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. However, he eventually found out about his previous associations. All rights reserved. Stem cell research is a hot field of science and, according to statistics, also a rather scandal-prone one. Ms. Seins trachea before, left, and her new transplanted trachea. He has been convicted of research-related crimes in Italy and Sweden. 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. California Besides which, compassionate concerns dont override the basic principles of patient safety and informed consent. (LogOut/ I didnt want Paolo to not be the man I believed him to be, she told Vanity Fair. ABCs true-crime documentary series The Con premieres with the story of Paolo Macchiarini, who was once considered a pioneer in the field of regenerative medicine but allegedly turned out to be just a fraud. ONE Super Series It is fitting that Macchiarinis career unravelled at the Karolinska Institute. 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. This argument didnt wash with those who later investigated the case. It relieved a little bit of burden from him.. With Macchiarinis exploits endorsed by management and breathlessly reported in the media, it was all too easy to jump on that bandwagon. American Catherine Serou sent her mother a text that read, I hope Im not being abducted., Benita Found Her Dream Man But He Lied About Everything & Left Death In His Wake, 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 , Shakira Could Face 8 Years In Prison For Tax Fraud In Spain, What To Know About Reality Star Jen Shah's Wire Fraud Case, Tejano Music Queen Selena Was Shot To Death By The President Of Her Fan Club, 29-Year-Old Woman Arrested After Enrolling In New Jersey High School, American College Student In The Netherlands Stalked And Killed By Man She Met On Tinder, Iowa College Student Allegedly Faked Cancer Diagnosis, Scammed Hundreds, Italian Surgeon Accused Of Operating Inappropriately Gets Conditional Sentence, True Crime News Roundup: Elderly Man Missing For Months Found Dead In Trash Can Outside His Home, True Crime News Roundup: Prince Andrew Stripped Of Military Titles After Judge Allows Sex Abuse Case To Proceed, Student Studying Abroad In Russia Found Dead After Sending Her Mother Troubling Text, An Alabama Woman Disappeared After Her Boyfriend Dropped Her Off At Home, Have You Seen Semaj Goodwine? I can breathe, she was amazed to discover. Science and AAAS are working tirelessly to provide credible, evidence-based information on the latest scientific research and policy, with extensive free coverage of the pandemic. From that moment on, she made a proposal to Paolo Macchiarini, and Dateline planned to publish the story. 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. They and their loved ones fall victim to false hope. Japan The tube was necessary because her trachea the airway leading to the lungs had become damaged after she spent weeks on a ventilator for a severe asthma attack in 2014. The couple has been married for 30 years now. 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. By using a patients own cells, Dr. Macchiarini sought to rectify an age-old problem with transplants involving donated organs, which the body sometimes rejects as foreign tissue. 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. Ive never in my experience witnessed a fraud like this, with this level of international flair, Murphy told Vanity Fair. In 2017, Paolo worked at a university in Russia, where he was given a federal grant for oesophagus research on primates, and operated on baboons rather than humans. She considered backing out. Sonia Sein, outside her Bronx home, had irreparable damage to her trachea. 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.