Could Maradona Have Been Saved? .. What Did the Autopsy Reveal About Maradona's Final Days?

The court heard, during the trial of a medical team that supervised the care of Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona in his final weeks, testimony from a forensic doctor describing signs on his heart indicating 'prolonged suffering' and edema that lasted 'for a long time.'

Dr. Federico Corasaniti, an autopsy expert, explained while testifying via video technology that when analyzing the heart during the autopsy 'clots were found between the chambers of the heart... and these clots appear during long periods of suffering.'

Maradona's potential suffering, which the prosecution claims lasted for several hours according to expert testimony and which the defense of some defendants denies, is a key element in the trial, as it indicates a deficiency in the care or monitoring that the 1986 World Cup champion received during his convalescence at home.

Nevertheless, Dr. Corasaniti did not comment on Tuesday on the duration of the Argentine football legend's potential suffering.

In contrast, regarding Maradona's condition when he was found lifeless with a swollen and deformed abdomen, Corasaniti described his condition as ascites, i.e., fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity.

He affirmed, saying: 'This cannot happen suddenly. It is almost impossible... It was developing over a long period,' apparently referring to a condition that could have been noticed externally.

Maradona died at the age of 60 on November 25, 2020, from a cardiorespiratory arrest accompanied by pulmonary edema, alone in his bed in a rented home for home treatment in Tigre (north of the capital Buenos Aires), where he was recovering from neurosurgery to treat a hematoma in his head.

Seven healthcare workers (a doctor, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, and nurses) have been on trial for three weeks in San Isidro for potential negligence that contributed to the death of the Italian club Napoli's star.

The issue of the level of care he received, in addition to the lack of medical equipment in the home he rented for his recovery period, has been raised repeatedly during the trial, as happened in the previous trial in 2025 which was dropped after a judge recused himself.

On Tuesday, the court also heard testimony that Maradona, who suffered from alcohol and cocaine addiction, among other things, had a liver condition 'consistent with liver cirrhosis,' according to pathologist Silvina De Piero.

However, the biochemistry specialist who conducted the toxicology tests confirmed that there were no traces of alcohol or drugs in his body at the time of his death.

This testimony corroborated the statement made by one of the defendants, psychiatrist Carlos Diaz, last Thursday, who said he successfully accompanied Maradona, in the last month, to complete abstinence from alcohol for '23 days.'