Maradona should not have undergone surgery before his death, doctors say
Seven medical professionals have been accused of negligence in the death of the footballer, who died in 2020 aged 60.
Diego Maradona should not have undergone surgery two weeks before his death because it was not a serious matter, the negligence trial into his death has heard.
After checking a CT scan of Maradona’s brain presented during the hearing, neurologist Martin Cesarini said: “It was not an emergency for surgery.”
Neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque is one of seven medical professionals accused of negligence in the death of the football great.
Neurologist Guillermo Pablo Burry also said that he told Luque that surgery was not necessary and Maradona’s clinical progress should just have been monitored.
Dr Cesarini and Dr Burry examined Maradona at a clinic in Buenos Aires, where he had been transferred early in November 2020 for a medical check-up.
Flavio Tunessi, another doctor from the same facility also giving evidence, said: “Luque told me that for him, it was a surgical procedure and he decided to transfer him.”
It is alleged Luque did not listen to any of his colleagues and moved Maradona to another clinic, where the former Argentina captain underwent surgery for a hematoma on November 3 of that year.
Maradona, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in 1986, died on November 25 2020 while undergoing hospital treatment at home on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. He was 60 years old.
According to the prosecution, the seven professionals charged in the negligence case — a neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, doctors and nurses — failed to provide adequate care, which may have led to his death.
