Francesca Tucci, 24, died three days after she had surgery for Wilkie’s syndrome, a rare gastrointestinal disorder, at the Antonio Cardarelli Hospital in Naples, Italy
Police are investigating after a student died following elective surgery in Italy to treat a rare condition that caused abdominal bloating.
Francesca Tucci died three days after undergoing the surgery to treat Wilkie’s syndrome, a rare gastrointestinal disorder.
The condition, which leads to abdominal bloating after eating certain foods, is caused when part of the small intestine is compressed between the aorta and the superior mesenteric artery.
The 24-year-old decided to undergo surgery at Antonio Cardarelli Hospital in Naples, Italy after seeking specialist consultations in Milan and Rome.
Francesca underwent the scheduled private operation on June 29. It was carried out under Italy’s intramoenia system, which allows doctors employed by the National Health Service to carry out private work within the public hospitals where they are based.
However on the night of July 1 her condition started to deteriorate and she began vomiting and repeatedly fainting. She was rushed for a CT scan and doctors determined that she needed emergency surgery for a second time.
Tragically the operation was unsuccessful, and Francesca died on July 2, just hours after being transferred to intensive care. Now the Naples Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a manslaughter investigation following a complaint filed by Francesca’s family filed a complaint on July 3.
Surgeon Felice Pirozzi, along with healthcare professionals Giuseppe Magno and Francesca Duro, has been placed under investigation as a procedural step while prosecutors carry out their inquiries. An autopsy was carried out on Tuesday.
“It wasn’t a life-saving operation,” Francesca’s father, Vincenzo, told local media. “My daughter was well.”
The family paid more than €10,000 (£8,550) for the procedure, as well as €500 (£428) a day for Francesca’s hospital room.
Vincenzo said: “I paid, and despite that, I watched my daughter die.”
Francesca lived in Afragola and was just two exams away from completing her law degree at Parthenope University.
The university described her as a “beautiful, cheerful young woman” and “a young life cut short while planning her future with determination and dedication”.
In a statement, Francesca’s family said: “We believe she was left alone when she needed help most, that she desperately tried to get someone’s attention, and that assistance was neither timely nor adequate.
“For hours, her loved ones waited outside without anyone showing us the basic human decency of giving us answers.”
