Paolo Macchiarini was known as one of the world’s most renowned surgeons, with his cutting-edge regenerative organ technique, he was claimed to be able to save lives as never before. Yet when all of his patients began dying, more than just the technique itself would be called into question.
Lying itself may not be a crime, even lying to a romantic partner won’t necessarily land you behind bars. Lying to patients about the effectiveness of a medical procedure, however, now that can land someone in some serious trouble. Dr. Paolo Macchiarini found that out the hard way when his medical procedures, and his love life, didn’t hold up under scrutiny. Here’s everything the subject of Netflix’s Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife, did.
Who is Paolo Macchiarini?
Dr. Paolo Macchiarini appeared to be a miracle man. Not only did he claim to be a groundbreaking surgeon he claimed to be a loving and devoted romantic partner. It turned out neither claim was exactly true.
In 2011 Dr. Macchiarini was revealing to the world his cutting-edge regenerative organ surgical technique. Macchiarini claimed that he could create a synthetic windpipe that he would then bathe in stem cells from his patient. After that, it was just a matter of implanting the organ in the patient and allowing the stem cells to help regenerate around it. It was a claim that if true, would change the face of medicine. He was working with the prestigious Karolinska Hospital in Sweden, the place where Nobel prizes are given. All of the intrigue is what attracted NBC producer Benita Alexander to the story, as Dr. Macchiarini attempted the groundbreaking surgery on a two-year-old patient, Hannah Warren.
Throughout the filming process Alexander found herself falling for the cosmopolitan doctor who claimed he could perform a miracle surgery. The two began a relationship, and by 2013 they were engaged. Dr. Macchiarini continued performing the procedure, pursuing his groundbreaking work and the couple’s relationship blossomed. Alexander reported being swept off her feet, and feeling like she was in a dream. Yet before long that dream turned into a nightmare.
What did Paolo Macchiarini do?
Dr. Macchiarini’s stories of grandeur and love began to unravel, as did the outcomes of his patients. The two-year-old girl Alexander had reported on, ended up passing away and she wasn’t the only one. All of Dr. Macchiarini’s patients seemed to be having adverse outcomes, everything from severe infections to death. His story of a fairytale wedding to Alexander officiated by the pope attended by former presidents in a castle in Italy also began to fall apart.
While Benita was discovering Macchiarini’s lies about his love life, and single status, a team of investigatos and doctors were discovering the lies around his medical practice. Benita discovered Macchiarini had a whole other life, and family, living in the house in Barcelona he had told Benita she and her daughter would be moving into. The investigative team found some inconsistencies around the claims of his cutting-edge surgery. It appeared it had never been tested on animals, the patients themselves appeared to be his human guinea pigs. The claims about the trachea being “bathed in stem cells” also appeared untrue. It seemed that he was putting little more than plastic tubes in place of essential organs. The procedure claimed the lives of seven of the eight patients it was performed on. The eighth had the implant removed.
The case was similar to that of surgeon Christopher Duntsch, known as Dr. Death. Was Macchiarini just an inept surgeon or was he a potential serial killer? Macchiarini was taken to court in 2017, but initially received little more than a slap on the wrist. Finally, in June of 2023, he was retried and found guilty of gross assault on three of his patients. He was sentenced to 2 years and six months in prison. The judges felt he had “acted with criminal intent” knowing there were faults in the procedure even though he hoped it would work. The cases were fairly tricky as several of the patients he operated on were terminal cases and some survived for a few years after the procedures despite suffering debilitating consequences of it. Yet finally a verdict was handed down and Macchiarini would finally face some consequences.
While the sentencing for his crimes hardly seems to account for the loss of life, there is some comfort that Macchiarini’s lies have been reveled and his ability to continue with the surgery, terminated.