Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife is a three-part Netflix docuseries. This is a surgical horror story involving a surgeon and scientist who deceived people through public exposure.
Bad Surgeon is a medical documentary mini-series directed by Ben Steele that delves into the shocking revelations about Paolo Macchiarini, a thoracic surgeon and former regenerative medicine researcher who was exposed as a fraud after investigations into his patients’ mysterious deaths revealed shocking truths. His deep-seated manipulative attitude, on the other hand, had everyone around him convinced of his sincerity and spilled over into the dating arena in a tangled game of lies and betrayal.
The miniseries begins with Benita Alexander, Macchiarini’s ex-partner and journalist, discussing how she was swept off her feet by him while producing a documentary about his “miraculous” stem cell research. We get her side of the story interspersed with the horrifying aftereffects of Macchiarini’s botched surgeries, and while you might think it’s a bunch of happy memories in between absolutely horrible atrocities, it’s a different con that will leave you afraid to trust people by the end of the series.
Benita’s story may remind you of The Tinder Swindler – not a medical practitioner, but a master manipulator who was just too brilliant at luring women in with his implausible claims. Benita being duped is a little more stunning because Macchiarini was such a well-known figure, but I think that is what made this scam even more plausible in retrospect. What makes Benita Alexander’s story even more intriguing is that she is a journalist whose job it is to dig into things like this. So her putting on her blinkers in such a way is not only stunning, but also frightening – why did he chose her?
The documentary is rather clear and does not branch out too far – one is a love scam, and the other is a medical fraud. The medical aspect of the plot is introduced immediately, with Paolo Macchiarini’s patients mysteriously dying shortly after a “successful” procedure. It is shocking to observe when the hazy and uncertain times morph into certainty. After the series establishes the foundation of Macchiarini’s deception, it becomes difficult to turn away from the television as more and more lies emerge. The disturbing game with real people’s lives is both heartbreaking and infuriating.
By the second episode, Macchiarini almost feels like a serial killer with a scalpel, which he eventually is. The interviews with ex-colleagues and investigative journalists are the most interesting, nauseating, and honestly incredibly upsetting to watch, and the docuseries does an excellent job of blending them with historical video to keep viewers interested. It provides the interviews sufficient attention and importance while combining visuals to make a deeper impact, heightening the seriousness of this horrible scenario.
The miniseries does an excellent job of bringing the various parts of Macchiarini’s web of mad lies to life through photos, interviews, and historical material. The surreal quality of the plot makes it feel like a fictional thriller series, but the fact that it happened in real life may throw you off. To be honest, it takes a while to believe what is going on film, same to how I felt while viewing Bad Vegan: Fame, Fraud, and Fugitives. It makes you aware that people need more knowledge about frauds and that no matter how famous you are, the Pope will not marry you off!
In episode three, the series spends a brief moment with Paolo Macchiarini. I believe it was also difficult to grasp when this occurred, and it also felt a little forced and made-up. Of course, it’s most likely a rehearsed section, but even so, a person who has exploited human lives for personal benefit should not be given the opportunity to speak. One investigative journalist also mentions how the media made Paolo Macchiarini more than he ever was, which is a fascinating debate that we don’t get into too deeply, despite the fact that the media remains a looming third party in the background.
It’s also the final episode that will leave you perplexed once the credits roll. The docuseries does an excellent job of hooking us on the story of these horrifying atrocities against human beings who seek surgery and put their trust in their doctors. After all is said and done, we are left with the question of accepting all media, including this documentary, with a grain of salt. We don’t know who is telling the absolute truth or where it lies. It’s terrible that the Supercells documentary’s creators didn’t do their homework before publishing something so hazardous to the globe and giving people hope.
Finally, Paolo Macchiarini’s tale, and the stories of others like him, should serve as a reminder to everyone in the medical community that it is critical to thoroughly evaluate surgeons before hiring them. That when patients die under the care of the same doctor on a regular basis, it should raise everyone’s eyebrows and be taken seriously. It’s terrible and depressing to see these shocking instances of extreme misconduct and, basically, murder, and Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife does an excellent job of presenting the facts with just the perfect amount of dramatic flare to leave you astonished and fascinated.