Greek actress Christina Pappa has spoken publicly about her own past visits to the private clinic in Athens now at the centre of the investigation into singer Giorgos Mazonakis's death, saying the practice struck her as dark and that she never trusted the doctor who treated her there.
Pappa posted a video to her personal TikTok account on Tuesday, September 15, revealing that she had visited the private clinic Stem Cell, in the Kolonaki district of Athens, on two occasions several years earlier. She expanded on the account the following day on the television programme Ataíristoi.
On the programme, Pappa said she had visited the office years earlier, before the doctor's wife appears to have been involved there, and described meeting Ilias Theodoropoulos, whom she called a noteworthy and cultured man.
She explained she had gone to the clinic because of long-standing stomach problems and difficulty with her weight, including bloating. Friends had told her to go, saying the doctor was extraordinary and had changed many people, she said. At the clinic, she said she sat in a chair fitted with electrodes attached to her head, hands and lower body, which produced a result. She said the doctor also gave her a course of vitamins, though she noted these were standard products from a large company rather than pharmacy-prepared formulations.
Despite this, Pappa said she did not like his style, describing the office as dark and the man himself as dark. She said a patient visits a doctor expecting to be listened to and to have things explained properly, that this was not her experience, and that she never trusted him.
Others in her circle
Pappa said other people she knew, including doctors and figures from politics, had visited the same clinic and undergone plasmapheresis treatment there, adding that even doctors among her own acquaintances had had the blood treatment done.
She said friends of hers had undergone plasmapheresis at the clinic some months earlier, and that she later learned the same doctors had sent nurses, if that is indeed what they were, to patients' homes to carry out various injectable treatments, including a serum she was told was for rejuvenation.
Pappa said the clinic was well known among people in her circle, saying her acquaintances, including some very prominent names, spoke highly of the doctor and said the treatment had done them a lot of good. She added that she does not judge anyone's choices and cannot judge what she has not seen herself, but said that if a patient's condition required a hospital, the doctors should have sent him there rather than leaving him alone, calling that a disgrace.
Grief over Mazonakis's death
Pappa first raised the subject of the clinic in a TikTok video posted after Mazonakis's death, which had prompted widespread discussion of the circumstances surrounding it.
In the video, she said she, like most people, remained in shock at what she called the unjust loss of a great artist. She said she still could not believe it, that everyone had loved him in their own way, had hurt and cried and laughed and stayed up nights because of his songs, and wished him a good rest in paradise.
She then said she had visited the doctor's office herself around 15 years earlier, going twice, and that she had found it a very dark practice that did not suit her character and that she had not liked.
A separate medical emergency
Pappa also recounted an unrelated medical scare from roughly the same period, which she said took place at a different clinic. About 15 years ago, or possibly more, while she was still married to Claudio and working in theatre, she developed a stye that worsened with the makeup she wore daily on stage. The only day she could have it treated was a Monday, her day off, and the doctor happened to be available at the clinic that day. As she was about to leave, her blood pressure dropped to 4, she said, and she recalled telling staff she was fading before being revived with a defibrillator. She said the doctor later told her she was fortunate to have gone to the clinic that day, as otherwise she might have died. Reflecting on that experience, she said Mazonakis's death might serve as a reminder of how careful people need to be, and how much they need to research and remain cautious before choosing a treatment.
Mazonakis's death and the investigation
Giorgos Mazonakis died on Wednesday, September 9, at the age of 54, following a cardiac arrest. The singer had gone to the private Stem Cell clinic in Kolonaki for plasmapheresis treatment when he suffered the arrest. He was then taken to Elpis Hospital, where his death was confirmed.
Ioanna Gaka and Ilias Theodoropoulos, the two doctors at the centre of the judicial investigation into Mazonakis's death, have been ordered held in custody. After lengthy questioning, the investigating judge and prosecutor decided on their pretrial detention.
Both defendants face a charge of intentional homicide with possible intent, committed through omission, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction. After two postponements, the two doctors appeared before the investigating judge shortly after 2pm on Tuesday, September 15, having prepared and submitted written statements setting out their positions.
