Kirurgen Paolo Macchiarini åtalas för grov misshandel efter misslyckade operationer

The curtain has finally fallen for trachea surgeon Paolo Macchiarini at the Karolinska Institute (KI
The series, called The Experiments, suggested that Macchiarini had exaggerated the success of his operations in published papers and that one patient at Kuban State Medical University in Krasnodar, Russia, died after she received his artificial trachea, even though she could have lived a long life

A spokesperson for KI declined to explain why the disciplinary board didn't await the outcome of a new formal investigation into Macchiarini's alleged misconduct, which KI launched after The Experiments ran. But the KI statement issued today identifies "numerous reasons" to let him go. Macchiarini's activities in Russia "were in breach of KI’s fundamental values and have damaged KI’s reputation," it says; Macchiarini "failed to truthfully and fully report his extra-occupational activities;" he "supplied false or misleading information in the CV he submitted to KI;" and he "demonstrated scientific negligence, according to KI’s investigation in 2015."

"This was an adequate decision," says Bengt Gerdin, a professor emeritus of surgery at Uppsala University in Sweden, who concluded in a report last year that Macchiarini's published research articles painted a flattering picture of his patients' health, and thus constituted scientific misconduct. (Gerdin's report was later dismissed by KI Vice-Chancellor Anders Hamsten, who said it was based on "incomplete information." Hamsten was among those who recently resigned.

"There's still a long road to go before there's complete clarity," Delaere says. So far, none of Macchiarini's papers have been retracted; Delaere says retraction may be in order for many. The situation of transplant recipients treated by Macchiarini in Barcelona, Spain, and London also warrants further investigation, Delaere says. "They are still seen as success stories in trachea regeneration," he says—but how they are really doing is unclear.

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