Convictions for the death of Vanessa Cella after three cosmetic surgeries

The first degree trial at the Court of Torre Annunziata (Naples) on the death of Vanessa Cella, the 37-year-old who died on 26 March 2022 after three cosmetic surgeries performed in sequence in the Santa Maria la Bruna nursing home in Torre del Greco, province of Naples, ended with the convictions of the three healthcare defendants. The judge imposed 2 years and 8 months on the surgeon, 3 years and 4 months on the anesthetist and 2 years and one month on the medical director of the clinic. Vanessa underwent three cosmetic surgeries on the same day and never woke up from the anesthesia.

Requests further investigation into the management of the clinic

Prosecutor Marianna Ricci, who hypothesized the crime of manslaughter against the three defendants, at the end of her indictment had asked for 3 years and 6 months for the anesthetist, 3 years for the surgeon and 2 years and 6 months for the medical director of the nursing home. The prosecution also asked Judge Antonio Fiorentino to transmit the documents so that further investigations into the management of the clinic can be carried out. This last request was also accepted by the judge who decided to send the witnesses' reports to the prosecutor for the evaluation of any possible crime hypotheses. Furthermore, each defendant was sentenced to pay a compensation of 15 thousand euros to the victim's brother, Patrizio Cella, defended by the lawyer Enrico Ricciuto. Among other things, the quantity of anesthetic administered, to which the curer for immobilization was added, and, above all, the lack of post-operative monitoring which, as the Court of Cassation established, is a burden not only on the anesthetist (who must be present 24 hours a day in every clinic where surgical operations are carried out) but, in the post-operative period, also on the surgeon who carried out the operation.