Athens: Two doctors were arrested on Thursday as questions mounted over the operation of a private clinic where Greek singer Giorgos Mazonakis had gone for plasmapheresis treatment shortly before suffering a cardiac arrest, the Kathimerini newspaper reported.
According to Anadolu Agency, Greek police arrested the two doctors suspected of involvement in Mazonakis' death, while a case was filed against them for deadly exposure, a felony offense. The doctors are expected to appear before a prosecutor on Friday as investigations continue to clarify what happened at the medical practice and the circumstances surrounding Mazonakis' death. Further answers are expected from an autopsy scheduled for Friday.
Authorities told the Greek daily that Mazonakis arrived at the doctors' office significantly earlier than the time initially given by the doctors. Investigators found a discrepancy of at least three hours between the singer's actual arrival time and the time reported by the doctors. Particular attention has also been given to data concerning the plasmapheresis machine at the clinic. Police determined that the machine had been operating for more than 30 minutes, suggesting that the plasmapheresis procedure had already begun. This appears to contradict the doctors' account that Mazonakis collapsed while they were attempting to insert a second IV catheter, before the procedure had begun.
Police also seized several items from the clinic, including computer files, for further examination following discrepancies reportedly identified in the doctors' statements.
The clinic where Mazonakis had gone for plasmapheresis has also come under scrutiny over its licensing and the medical procedures it was authorized to perform. The clinic allegedly provided plasmapheresis treatment while presenting itself as the only certified clinic of its kind in Greece and stating on its website that it had been among registered centers under this name in Europe since 2022. The doctor involved in the case is listed on the center's website as its medical director.
However, the services presented by the two doctors online do not appear to fully match the medical procedures for which the premises were officially licensed by the Athens Medical Association (ISA), the body responsible for licensing private medical practices in the Attica region. The practice initially operated on Ypsilantou Street in Kolonaki. It moved to Karneadou Street in 2013, when the premises received an operating certificate from the ISA as a primary care internal medicine practice.
Regarding the doctor and collaborator of the internist, information provided to Kathimerini by the ISA lists her as a physician without a specialty. Under the applicable framework, a doctor without a specialty may operate only a private general practice or a primary healthcare practice. Both the ISA administration and members of the medical community said therapeutic plasmapheresis was not a procedure that can be performed in a standard internal medicine primary care practice.
In Greece, plasmapheresis is performed at three hospitals -- Laiko, Kratiko and Attikon -- as well as at day-care hospitalization units. Any medical equipment used at the practice must be declared and approved. The ISA is now expected to clarify what procedures were planned or carried out at the Karneadou premises, what equipment was used and under what operating authorization. The exact details concerning the clinic's equipment, license and medical procedures are expected to become clearer in the coming days.