Buenos Aires – The brain surgery Diego Armando Maradona underwent shortly before his death “was not necessary.” This was stated by three doctors from the Ipensa hospital in La Plata during the trial involving seven health workers accused of the death of the Argentine champion, who died on November 25, 2020.
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During the tenth hearing of the case, neurosurgery chief Guillermo Burry stated that, after the Pibe de Oro was admitted to hospital on November 2, “the patient should have remained under observation, but should not have been operated on”.
A CT scan performed at the time revealed a subdural hematoma, which Burry described as “small and mild” and not large enough to require emergency surgery.
Echoing this was neurologist Martin Cesarinni, also working at Ipensa, who said that “Maradona did not present any neurosurgical emergency”.
Luque's pressing
According to the reconstruction offered by Dr. Marcos Correa, one of the doctors of the team, the sample was informed of the hematoma and advised against surgery. However, his personal doctor, Leopoldo Luque, reportedly pushed for surgery after seeing the tests.
“I refused to operate on him,” Burry explained in court. “As the area manager I decided that it was not the right time: there were other priorities and Maradona he hadn’t been evaluated by a cardiologist yet. He wasn’t ready.”
Despite this, Luque continued to insist and, without consulting his family, organized the transfer of the player to the Olivos Clinic, where on November 3 he underwent the operation, the last before his death a few weeks later.
“He wasn't well, but nobody listened to him”
Dr. Tunessi, a traumatologist at Ipensa, also confirmed Maradona's precarious conditions. "That day I saw him in bad shape: thinner, in a bad mood, staggering. When I asked him if he needed anything, he replied: 'I'm leaving, I'm not well'."
The next day, Tunessi reports, it was Luque himself who looked for him to ask for hospitalization at Ipensa, stating that "nobody saw him well".
The seven defendants
In addition to Luque, the psychiatrist is also in the dock Agustina Cosachov, the psychologist Carlos Diaz, the doctor Nancy Forlini (coordinator for Swiss Medical), the doctor Peter of Spain, the nursing coordinator Mariano Perroni and the nurse Ricardo Almirón.
All are accused, to varying degrees, of manslaughter with eventual intentThe trial, which began last month, continues to shed light on the champion's final days and the alleged medical negligence that may have caused his death.
Article published on 11 April 2025 - 11:10
Reading this article, it seems that there are many contradictions among doctors regarding Maradona's operation. It is not clear whether it was necessary or not, and this leads to many questions about what really happened.