Doctors suspended for 12 and 7 months over child's transplanted heart case

Cardiologist Guido Oppido and his deputy Emma Bergonzoni have been suspended from medical practice for 12 and 7 months, respectively, following a judicial order. The suspension is linked to the heart transplant of a young boy, Domenico Caliendo, performed on December 23, 2025, who later died on February 21 at the Monaldi Hospital.

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The two are suspended respectively for 12 and 7 months on charges of material and ideological falsification in complicity related to the compilation of the child's medical record.

The Naples investigating judge ordered the suspensions based on accusations of material and ideological falsification in connection with the child's medical records. The prosecution, supported by the Carabinieri's NAS (Special Operations Unit), alleges that the doctors falsely attested to circumstances in the operative report that did not align with reality. Specifically, it is claimed they falsely stated that cannulation and extracorporeal circulation operations had begun after the transplant team arrived from Bolzano, when evidence suggests these procedures started earlier.

Both doctors, represented by their lawyers, underwent preliminary interrogations. In addition to the falsification charges, they, along with five other doctors, face accusations of manslaughter in relation to Domenico Caliendo's death. The Azienda Ospedaliera dei Colli had previously suspended Dr. Oppido preventively.

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According to the Carabinieri of the NAS and the Public Prosecutor's Office of Naples, in their capacity as doctors, they would have falsely attested to circumstances not corresponding to the truth in the operative report relating to the heart transplant.

Meanwhile, a judicial investigation into the two hearts involved in the transplant, the frozen one from Bolzano and Domenico's original diseased heart, concluded on June 10. The expert reports, initially due in September, may be delayed until mid-October. Forensic analyses conducted at the Policlinico of Bari, involving consultants for the accused and the Caliendo-Mercolino family, indicated signs of necrosis caused by both low temperatures and prolonged use of ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation).

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In essence, the operations had actually begun before the arrival of the team at the hospital in Naples.