Paolo Macchiarini is a Swiss thoracic surgeon and former regenerative medicine researcher. He is known to engage in research fraud and display manipulative behavior. He has been accused of unethically performing experimental surgeries, including procedures on relatively healthy patients. Of the eight patients who underwent his synthetic tracheal implants, seven reportedly suffered fatal outcomes. In 2023, a documentary titled ‘Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife’ was released on Netflix, based on Paolo’s work in the field of regenerative medicine.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Paolo Macchiarini was born on Friday, 22 August 1958 (age 65 years; as in 2023) in Basel, Switzerland. His zodiac sign is Leo. He earned his medical degree (equivalent to an MD) from the Medical School of the University of Pisa (UNIPI) in 1986 and later received a Master of Surgery in 1991. In 1989, he studied statistics in clinical research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. , Macchiarini received degree certificates, including a master’s degree in organ and tissue transplantation in 1994 and a doctorate in the same field from the University of Franche-Comté in France in 1997.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 9″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye colour: black
Paolo Macchiarini with Benita Alexander
Family
parents and siblings
He was born to Italian parents.
wife and children
In 1986, Paolo married an Italian woman named Emanuela Pecchia. The couple have two children, a boy and a girl. Apparently, they have a total of 5 children. In 2013, he revealed that he had separated from his wife; However, their divorce was not legal at the time.
relationships/affairs
In 2013, Paolo Macchiarini began dating NBC News producer Benita Alexander while he was separated from his wife Emanuela Pecchia.
Paolo Macchiarini with Benita Alexander
Fiance
On December 25, 2013, Paolo Macchiarini got engaged to his girlfriend Benita Alexander.
Paolo Macchiarini and Benita Alexander’s engagement day photo
livelihood
He worked as an assistant professor at the University of Pisa from 1990 to 1992. He served as head of the department of thoracic and vascular surgery at the Heidhaus-Hannover Hospital, Germany, where he served as head of the department of thoracic and vascular surgery until Germany’s Hanover Medical School once stated that he never had a salaried position there. From 1999 to 2004. Macchiarini held a position as an investigator at the Instituto de Investigación Biomédicas-Instituto de Investigación Biomédicas in Barcelona, Spain from 2006 to 2009. During this time, he was affiliated with and worked at the University of Barcelona. Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. He had an honorary appointment as Visiting Professor at University College London from 2009 to 2014. Starting in 2010, he became a consultant and project manager at the University Hospital Caregi (AOUC). That same year, Macchiarini took up a visiting professorship at the Karolinska Institute (KI) in Stockholm and a part-time surgical position at the affiliated university hospital. In 2013, KI ended its clinical relationship with Macchiarini but allowed him to continue as a researcher. However, in February 2016, the university decided not to renew his research contract and terminated it the following month. After giving a master class in 2010, Paolo established connections in Russia, resulting in a tracheal transplant there. This incident, widely covered in the Russian media, resulted in his appointment to the Kuban State Medical University in 2011. The university and the Russian government funded the position, along with an honorary doctorate. He moved to Kazan Federal University in 2016, taking the grant money with him; However, the university terminated his research project in April 2017.
Some notable tracheal surgeries performed by Paolo
Kezia Shorten
In 2010, Macchiarini performed a transplant surgery on his patient Kezia Shorten, who had tracheal cancer; However, the transplant was not successful, and the following year, a synthetic trachea was implanted at University College Hospital London for palliative care. In 2011, she was discharged and could celebrate Christmas at home with her family, but she ultimately succumbed to her underlying disease.
Paolo Macchiarini with Kezia Shorten (in bed) after tracheal transplant surgery
Alexander Zozulya
In June 2012, Macchiarini performed another surgery to implant a second synthetic seeded trachea on Alexander Zozulya. Zozulya had a tracheostomy due to a car accident, and her life was not in immediate danger. After complications from the first transplant in 2012, a second surgery was performed in November 2013. Zozulya died in February 2014 under unclear circumstances.
Sadiq Kanan
In August 2013, Sadiq Kanan underwent a fully synthetic seeded tracheal implant procedure performed by Macchiarini at Cuban State Medical University. He died later that year.
Dmitry Onogda
In June 2014, Macchiarini conducted a procedure to implant a fully synthetic seeded trachea in Dmitry Onogda at the Kuban State Medical University. The initial implant failed, and it was later replaced. As of 2017, Dmitry Onogda was reported to still be alive.
Dmitry Onogda
controversies
Extortion from a patient of University Hospital Keregi
In 2012, Macchiarini faced arrest in Italy on charges of soliciting money from patients to expedite their procedures at AOC. The charges were dismissed in May 2015 and the prosecutor’s appeal was also dismissed in September 2015.
research misconduct
In 2014, four former colleagues and co-authors accused Macchiarini of falsifying claims in his research at the Karolinska Institute (KI). The following April, KI’s ethics committee responded to these allegations in The Lancet regarding research ethics and peer review and concluded that they were baseless. KI hired an external expert, Bengt Gerdin, to assess the allegations and check the reported results against hospital medical records. The university released Gerdin’s report in May 2015, which revealed that Macchiarini had engaged in research misconduct in seven papers. This included not obtaining ethical approval for some procedures, misrepresenting the results of some operations, and inaccuracies in work involving animals. In August 2015, following an assessment of the findings and Macchiarini’s response, KI Vice-Chancellor Anders Hamsten concluded that Macchiarini had acted ‘without due care’, but did not find evidence of misconduct.
con man
In January 2016, an article was published by a popular American magazine, describing a courtship and alleged marriage arrangement involving NBC News producers Benita Alexander and Paolo Macchiarini. In 2013, Benita was commissioned by NBC News to produce a documentary about Paolo called ‘A Leap of Faith’. During the project, she became romantically involved with him, but in 2015 it was revealed that he had been married to her for thirty years, including the entire period of their courtship. The article details Macchiarini’s lies about being surgeons to celebrities and world leaders, including claims of affairs with former US Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Pope Francis’ caretakers, Andrea Bocelli and Elton John. Planning a fabulous wedding with. Enoteca Pinchiori catering, and many celebrities attending. Macchiarini reportedly claimed that Pope Francis had given his blessing for their marriage, which a papal spokesman rejected, saying that the Pope did not know anyone by that name and that he did not officiate at such an event. Would not have done.
Criminal investigation and conviction
- In June 2016, Swedish police launched an investigation to determine whether Macchiarini could be charged with involuntary manslaughter. After a year-long medico-legal investigation, the Attorney General’s Office announced in October 2017 that Macchiarini had committed negligence in four of the five cases investigated, citing a lack of sufficient evidence into the use of equipment and procedures. . However, he said that guilt could not be proven, as the patients might have died under any other treatment.
- In 2019, an Italian court sentenced Paolo to sixteen months in prison for abuse of office and forging documents. However, later the Supreme Court acquitted him of all charges.
Facts/General Knowledge
- Paolo is fluent in Italian, German, English, French, Spanish and Catalan.
- In August 2021, the third season of the Dr. Death podcast released a six-episode season titled ‘Miracle Man’, focusing on Paolo Macchiarini. The podcast explores allegations of ethical misconduct and manipulation in Macchiarini’s medical practices, as well as her deception in her relationship with Alexander. The series includes interviews with Benita Alexander to provide information about controversies involving Paolo.
Poster of the 2021 podcast ‘Dr. Death’
- He is often seen smoking cigars in public places.
Paolo Macchiarini smoking a cigar
- He occasionally consumes alcohol.
Paolo Macchiarini holding a small glass of wine
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn