Italian surgeon gets his sentence appealed in Sweden case

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Swedish prosecutors have appealed a sentence given to an Italian surgeon who was prosecuted for causing bodily harm during experimental stem-cell windpipe transplants. Three of his patients died. Dr. Paolo Macchiarini made headlines in 2011 for carrying out the world’s first stem-cell windpipe transplants at Sweden’s leading hospital. However, he later faced trial for allegedly operating inappropriately on the three patients. A lower court cleared him of of two charges of assault and handed him a suspended sentence in the third case. On Wednesday, The chief prosecutor appealed, saying Wednesday, “It seems clear to me that these have been completely unlawful human experiments” that called for a long prison sentence.