Businessman dies in Tirana clinic after having stomach surgery, renowned surgeon and dietitian under investigation

2026-02-07 10:42:33Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

By Roberta Polese,  CORRIERE DELLA SERA

Massimo Ferro, 54, an entrepreneur from Camposampiero in Italy, had decided to lose weight.

After years of diets that had never succeeded, he had decided to trust a Milanese clinic that promised a long-term solution.

At the private clinic, they had proposed a trip to Tirana, where he could undergo a surgical procedure to reduce his stomach.

But something didn't go as planned and Massimo Ferro died on December 22nd in Albania.

To shed light on the incident, the Padua prosecutor, Andrea Girlando, has listed surgeon Andrea Formiga and dietitian Alessandra Freda, both from Lombardy, as suspects.

An autopsy will be performed on Massimo's body in Padua on Monday; the forensic pathologist commissioned by the prosecution is Dr. Antonello Cirnelli.

In December, Ferro's contact with the surgeon had taken place through WhatsApp messages, through which information, costs and logistical instructions were provided. The price of the operation, 4,400 euros, was much lower compared to the approximately 15,000 euros requested in Italy. Despite the patient suffering from type II diabetes and weighing 108 kilograms, the operation was scheduled for December 18 in Tirana, at the "twin" clinic of the Milanese one.

The pre-operative tests, which Ferro was unable to complete in Italy, were postponed directly to the day before the intervention in Tirana. According to what the family (lawyers Stefano Squarise and Jenny Lopresti) have denounced, none of the procedures foreseen by the Italian and international guidelines for obesity surgery were respected. The only instruction given was to remain without eating since the evening of the previous day.

Massimo Ferro arrived in Tirana on December 17th with his wife. The following day he underwent surgery. On December 22nd his temperature rose, he was not breathing and his heart stopped beating. To this day, according to his family, no one has been able to say for sure the cause of death.

"We just want to know why Massimo never came home," his wife Romina and children write.


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