Diego Maradona \u00abwas not a patient fit for home care\u00bb following his neurosurgery in 2020, primarily due to the need for \u00abdetoxification\u00bb from alcohol, an intensive care doctor said on Tuesday in the trial regarding the football icon’s death.<\/p>\n
The football legend died on November 25, 2020 at age 60, while recovering at home from brain surgery for a blood clot.<\/p>\n
His seven-person medical team is on trial for what prosecutors have called the \u00abhorror theatre\u00bb of his care in the final days of his life, at a private home in the Greater Buenos Aires suburb of Tigre.<\/p>\n
Maradona died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema \u2013 a condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs \u2013 just weeks after going under the knife.<\/p>\n
One of the central questions in the trial is whether the decision to place him in home care, rather than a medical facility, put his life at risk.<\/p>\n
Fernando Villarejo, head of intensive care at Cl\u00ednica Olivos where Maradona underwent surgery on November 3, stated that the football legend \u00abwas not a patient who should have been placed in home care\u00bb due to the complexity of his condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had been monitoring him for days, sedated. I didn\u2019t believe he could be taken out of an institutional setting,\u201d he told the court.<\/p>\n
Villarejo said that detoxification was \u201cvery difficult to carry out in either an intensive care unit or at home,\u201d and that Maradona should have been transferred to a rehabilitation clinic instead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking about a situation where you need to detox a patient, and they could experience episodes of psychomotor agitation, self-medicate, eat anything… and that\u2019s very hard to anticipate professionally in a home setting,\u201d he explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to the doctor, both family and physicians were trying to help Maradona overcome his alcohol addiction.<\/p>\n
Villarejo also said doctors at Cl\u00ednica Olivos had pushed for Maradona to be transferred to a rehabilitation facility that could offer both medical and neuropsychiatric care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, his primary doctor, Leopoldo Luque, allegedly rejected the recommendation.<\/p>\n
According to Villarejo, Maradona was also operated on without undergoing the necessary pre-surgical assessments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He also criticised the lack of a clear treatment plan, saying the appropriate course would have been admission to a rehabilitation centre with a multidisciplinary team. That suggestion, too, was turned down in favour of home care.<\/p>\n
Villarejo further testified that Luque prohibited other doctors from evaluating Maradona during his recovery, a decision he said only deepened the lack of medical oversight.<\/p>\n
Also testifying on Tuesday was Diego Dimitroff, director of Cl\u00ednica Olivos, who also expressed disagreement with the decision to discharge Maradona to home care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He argued the footballer should have remained at a medical facility given the severity of his condition.<\/p>\n
Villarejo recalled that Luque had told him that \u00abthe real problem\u00bb was that Maradona was \u00abunmanageable behaviourally.\u00bb\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said that both Luque and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, who is also facing charges, had asked him \u00abto sedate him indefinitely\u00bb following the operation.<\/p>\n
Villarejo said he complied, despite his misgivings, and sedated Maradona for 24 hours.<\/p>\n
Maradona\u2019s nursing team \u2013 Luque, Cosachov, psychologist Carlos D\u00edaz, nurse Ricardo Omar Almir\u00f3n, general practitioner Pedro Pablo Di Spagna, head of nursing Mariano Perroni, and Swiss Medical coordinator Nancy Edith Forlini are all facing charges of \u00abhomicide with possible intent\u00bb \u2013 pursuing a course of action despite knowing it could lead to death.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They face between eight and 25 years in prison.<\/p>\n
An eighth defendant, a nurse, will be tried separately.<\/p>\n
\u00a0The trial, taking place in the Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro, began on March 11 and is expected to continue through July.<\/p>\n
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\u2013 TIMES\/AFP\/PERFIL<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\nrelated news<\/h6>\n<\/p>\n<\/section>\n