Naples hospital investigation: Three versions of surgical report emerge in Caliendo case

New details have emerged in the investigation into the death of Domenico Caliendo, a toddler who died in February 2026 at the Monaldi Hospital in Naples following a heart transplant performed in December 2025.

Legal counsel for the family, Francesco Petruzzi, alleges that chat logs extracted from the phones of the suspects reveal three different versions of the surgical report. According to the lawyer, the first two drafts described the organ as appearing frozen upon extraction from the transport system, noting a “failure del trasporto” (transport failure) without assigning responsibility. However, the final, signed version removed this note and instead blamed the use of dry ice provided by the donor hospital.

The family's legal team also points to discrepancies in the timeline, noting that the final report includes a 20-minute period for heart extraction that appears to overlap with other recorded medical procedures.

Meanwhile, the Naples Court of Review is set to decide whether chief cardiac surgeon Guido Oppido and his deputy can return to medical practice. Both are currently suspended following accusations of forgery regarding the alleged coordination of changes to the surgical report via chat messages. The defense maintains that the communications were merely “normal professional exchanges” intended to clarify the procedure.