The case concerns three patients who had synthetic tracheas implanted in the years 2011–2012, as a result of tumors and damage to their own organs, respectively.
Behind the operations and the method was Paolo Macchiarini, at the time an acclaimed surgeon who was recruited to Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet in an attempt to raise Swedish research to new levels.
This is what happened: The scandal surrounding Paolo Macchiarini
The only option?
Macchiarini himself has consistently denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the operations on the three patients were performed as a life-saving measure and that the implant was the only option for them.
Others see the matter completely differently.
In the autumn of 2020, the surgeon was charged with three counts of aggravated assault as prosecutors believe the three operations were illegal.
According to them, there was no question of medical care and the situation was not as urgent as the defense claims.
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Macchiarini performed transplants of artificial trachea on eight patients, seven of whom died.
Photo: SVT Archive
"Pure experiments"
Nor can it be seen as research, prosecutors claim.
No ethical review had been performed prior to the procedures, which had been required for approved research.
- The interventions that Paolo Macchiarini has made, we claim have been pure experiments on humans, said prosecutor Jim Westerberg during the first day of the hearing in Solna District Court.
The prosecutors stated during the trial, which was held in the spring, that they believe that Paolo Macchiarini's deeds correspond to a sentence of well over five years in prison, but that a certain shortening can be made because the trial has taken a long time.
The verdict will be announced at 11 o'clock.
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TOP NEWS: The trial against Macchiarini begins today