Torre del Greco: Vanessa Cella dies after three cosmetic procedures; three doctors sentenced.

The first-instance trial held before the Court of Torre Annunziata in the death of Vanessa Cella, the 37-year-old who died on March 26, 2022, ended with three convictions. The woman had undergone three consecutive cosmetic surgeries on the same day at the Santa Maria la Bruna Nursing Home in Torre del Greco, in the province of Naples, without ever waking up from the anesthesia.

Judge Antonio Fiorentino handed down the following sentences for the crime of manslaughter:

• 3 years and 4 months for the anesthetist.
  2 years and 8 months for the surgeon.
  2 years and 1 month for the clinic's medical director.

The sentences imposed are close to the requests made by prosecutor Marianna Ricci, who at the end of her closing arguments had requested 3 years and 6 months for the anesthesiologist, 3 years for the surgeon, and 2 years and 6 months for the medical director. A provisional sum of €15 was also awarded to each defendant in favor of the victim's brother, Patrizio Cella, assisted by lawyer Enrico Ricciuto.

Shadows over clinical management and responsibilities

The investigation and trial focused on serious procedural and clinical issues. Among the charges raised were the amount of anesthetic administered, to which curare had been added for immobilization, and, above all, the lack of post-operative monitoring.

As established by the jurisprudence of the Court of Cassation, post-operative monitoring is not the sole responsibility of the anesthetist—whose 24-hour presence is mandatory in every facility where surgical procedures are performed—but also, in the delicate post-operative period, the responsibility of the surgeon who performed the procedure.

Accepting the prosecutor's request, the judge also ordered the transmission of the testimony to the public prosecutor so that further investigations can be initiated to assess any potential liability related to the overall management of the clinic.

The civil party's comment

"We are satisfied," stated Enrico Ricciuto, the Cella family's attorney. "The prosecution's case has held up, and the family, as they have always done, thanks the Prosecutor's Office for its meticulous investigation. March 5th will mark the fifth anniversary of Vanessa's death, and we hope that both the clinic and the insurance companies will finally settle the compensation proceedings. Our only regret is that Vanessa's mother passed away before seeing justice served for her daughter."