Fans of true crime will likely have been drawn in by the tragic and seriously worrying story of Dr Paolo Macchiarini (and his ex-fiancé, Benita Alexander), as shown in the three-part Netflix series, Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife.
But where is Dr Paolo Macchiarini now, was he ever convicted for his plastic windpipe surgeries, and is he still practicing medicine now?
What is the story of Netflix's Bad Surgeon?
In the documentary, viewers are shown Dr Paolo Macchiarini's rise to success as a 'pioneer' of complex throat surgeries, which involved him removing the patient's windpipe and replacing it with a plastic tube that he claimed had been coated with the patient's stem cells – a procedure he personally developed. Many news segments and documentaries were made on Macchiarini, painting the surgeon in a positive light, enabling his power and status to grow.
However, concerned colleagues from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden later grew suspicious that Dr Macchiarini had skipped a vital part of the medical research process: they flagged that there was a severe lack of data/evidence showing Dr Macchiarini trialled his plastic tubes on animals (with positive results) before moving on to humans. It is strongly implied he has a God complex. In the documentary, investigative journalist, Bosse Lindquist, says that when he learned of the concerns, he confronted Macchiarini, who denied wrongdoing - and that the whistleblowers faced harsh consequences from the powers at be at the Institute for trying to speak out. (One high-profile member of staff was later dismissed in relation to the Macchiarini case).
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Tragically, viewers are also told that despite being painted as success stories, many of Dr Macchiarini's patients who underwent the surgery to have their tracheas removed actually died horrible, painful deaths – with one, Yulia Tuulik (the subject of another documentary starring Dr Macchiarini), being left to "cough up pieces of her own flesh" (according to a journalist who spoke with Tuulik's mother after her passing).
An email from Tuulik to the producer of the documentary her story featured in is also shown, where she describes Dr Macchiarini's procedure as "shit".
Whilst Dr Macchiarini's professional life continued to expand and see him labelled a hero, viewers also learn that outside of the operating room, in 2013 he began a flashy whirlwind romance with an NBC producer, Benita Alexander – who first came into contact with him when she was making a short film about his work, titled A Leap of Faith.
Alexander explains she had no idea Dr Macchiarini was a fraud, who initially told her he was the private doctor for the Pope, the Clintons and Barrack Obama, and whisked her around the world first-class, all expenses. Although she found it odd he had five phones, she accepted his explanation of it being easier to have a phone for each country he worked in.
After Dr Macchiarini promised to arrange a wedding for himself and Alexander, which he told her would be conducted in an Italian castle by the Pope himself, the lies started to unravel when one of Alexander's colleagues alerts her to the fact the Pope would not be in Italy on the date of her wedding.
Shortly after, bad press started to circulate about Dr Macchiarini, after his former colleagues' concerns are finally listened to and made public. Alexander then emails her wedding guests to say the nuptials are off and flies to Barcelona to confront Dr Macchiarini, only to discover he has another partner, Ana Paula Bernardes, with whom he shares a daughter. The relationship then comes to an end, but not before Macchiarini allegedly tried to explain his way out of the lies by telling Alexander he was an undercover sniper.
In 2016, a series of trials against Macchiarini began, finally culminating in him being found guilty of gross assault against three patients in a court of law in Sweden.
The Netflix documentary states that Macchiarini declined to comment on all the allegations made against him in the series.
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Was Dr Paolo Macchiarini ever convicted?
It took some time, but eventually yes, the surgeon was found guilty of three counts of gross assault, but not of manslaughter or murder. Investigations into Macchiarni's conduct first began in 2016 and following a one-year investigation conducted by Swedish police, he was found to have been negligent in four out of five cases examined.
However, a conviction was tough to secure as the patients who passed away in his care (and following being operated on by Macchiarini) suffered with multiple ailments, so it was difficult to pinpoint one cause of death.
In 2019, Macchiarini was back in court once again, this time in Italy, where he was sentenced to 16 months in jail for allegedly forging documents related to his scientific work and for abuse of office. He later appealed the sentence and was acquitted of wrongdoing.
More recently, as of June 2023, following another trial in Sweden, Macchiarini was found guilty of gross assault against three of his patients that he fitted with a plastic windpipe. After trying to appeal the ruling, Macchiarini's suspended sentence was increased to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment, and a judge ruled that he'd acted "acted with criminal intent".
A judge involved in the trial also stated that whilst Macchiarini hoped his plastic windpipe method would work, he "realized the risk that the procedures would cause the patients physical injuries and suffering and that he was indifferent to the realization of these risks."
In a statement, Macchiarini questioned why he was the sole person being held accountable for the deaths, saying, "The intention of harming is the most awful accusation that you can make to a doctor... In the operating room we were 20, 25 people. What surprises me is, why I am here alone?"
In Bad Surgeon it is also alleged that Macchiarini lied to at least one patient about the success rate of his procedure and he is accused of not providing adequate post-op care.
Where is Dr Paolo Macchiarini now – and does he still practice medicine?
Currently, Macchiarini is not believed to be working and it is unclear as to whether or not he's started serving his prison sentence. As per Bad Surgeon, it looks as though there could be multiple other lawsuits and allegations heading his way in future, too.
In an Instagram post, Ana Paula Bernardes, with whom Macchiarini shares a child wrote: "May God protect me and do justice to the memory of my son Danilo. Paolo is now in jail, for those 3 people he operated in Sweden. But I am confident that this is the beginning of a great serial process [...] there are still many lives left that were devastated and taken away for his experiments! Not to mention the lives of the family members he ruined!"
Does Dr Paolo Macchiarini have a wife and children?
It's reported that Macchiarini has at least three children – including a daughter that he shares with Ana Paula Bernardes. As well as being engaged to Benita Alexander, Vanity Fair also reported that he married an Italian woman named Emanuela Pecchia in 1986 and told Alexander his divorce had come through in 2013. Little is known of her, other than she shares a son and daughter with Macchiarini.
In 2016, Vanity Fair also reported: "A review of public records in Italy would also seem to indicate that Macchiarini remains married to Emanuela Pecchia, his wife of nearly 30 years."
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Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
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