Monitoring of Diego Maradona’s kidney function and weight should have served as early warning signs of the deterioration of his condition, in the days leading up to his death, a nephrologist testified at the ongoing trial aimed at investigating the causes that led to the death of “Dieguito.”
Dr. Hernán Trimarki, testifying at the trial of seven healthcare professionals accused of possible negligent homicide, reiterated the claims of other experts who spoke at recent hearings, strongly suggesting gaps in the care of the global soccer icon, who died in November 2020. He explained that during the autopsy, Maradona’s kidneys weighed “much more than they should have” and had “various lesions,” which he attributed to a history of obesity, cocaine use, and high blood pressure.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Maradona suffered from glomerulosclerosis, a condition characterized by damage to the kidney filters that remove excess water and which can lead to edema. In this context, “the bare minimum was daily medical examinations, daily nursing care, blood tests, and monitoring of vital signs,” said the doctor in question, adding:
“I didn’t see a single blood sample in the file regarding Maradona’s home care during his two-week recovery in Tigre (north of Buenos Aires). Furthermore, if blood pressure rises, if weight increases, then something needs to be done… with a simple scale, you can predict quite a lot.”
Dr. Trimarki was a member of the prestigious 22-member Interdisciplinary Medical Committee established by the court in 2021 to investigate the Maradona case.
He is the third expert, in the last three hearings of the trial in San Isidro, to point out warning signs that should have been noticed or monitored by the medical team. On Thursday, a cardiologist stated that, given the suspected organ dysfunction and heart failure, Maradona should have been transferred “to an appropriate setting, which home care is not.”
And last Tuesday, a medical examiner, also a member of the medical committee, noted several “warning signs” that were ignored at the time: edema, shortness of breath, signs of high blood pressure, and tachycardia.
“The deterioration was gradual over at least ten days (before his death). It could have raised a red flag,” insisted Dr. Carlos Casinelli. At the age of 60, Maradona was found dead on November 25, 2020, in his bed at a residence he had rented for postoperative recovery, having died of a cardiorespiratory arrest combined with pulmonary edema. And according to expert testimony, he suffered for several hours.
The defendants—including a neurosurgeon, a trusted physician, a psychologist, and nurses—face up to 25 years in prison. All of them deny any responsibility, while most… hide behind their medical specialties, claiming they have no direct connection to the clinical causes of death.
The trial is expected to last until September.
*photo source: AR
