An ongoing police and judicial investigation into the death of popular Greek performer Giorgos Mazonakis has raised new questions about the drugs allegedly administered to him during a medical procedure, their possible interactions and the circumstances inside a Kolonaki clinic where the treatment took place.
The latest inspection of the clinic in the upscale district reportedly uncovered two vials of Anexate, a medication containing flumazenil that reverses the effects of benzodiazepines. Investigators are examining how the drug came to be stored there and under what conditions medications used in intravenous procedures were kept and administered.
Anesthesiologist Dimitris Manikis of Athens’ Attikon Hospital told MEGA Channel’s Live News that flumazenil requires careful medical supervision because reversing sedation can cause serious adverse reactions, including seizures. He stressed the need for specialized personnel and the ability to manage complications immediately.
The investigation is also examining a locked drawer in the office of the physician under investigation. A nurse at the clinic told Live News that medications used for intravenous procedures were kept there and had to be requested from the doctor whenever needed.
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Investigators are also examining the possibility that vials of propofol and midazolam, both used in sedation, were removed from the premises, as may have been the case with filters from the plasma exchange machine.
The two physicians, a husband and wife, are shown being led, as suspects, before investigating magistrates.
Toxicology findings and disputed adrenaline administration
Geneticist Giorgos Fitsialos, who has been appointed as a technical adviser by the singer’s family, presented preliminary findings concerning substances detected in Mazonakis’ body, according to the television report.
In addition to midazolam and propofol, the substances reportedly identified included olanzapine and aripiprazole, both atypical antipsychotic medications; flumazenil; lidocaine, a local anesthetic; and cocaine and benzoylecgonine, its principal metabolite.
The findings also raised questions about adrenaline, which the two physician – a husban and wife – under investigation reportedly said they had administered. Fitsialos said the substance was not detected in the findings he presented, suggesting it might have been administered after the singer’s death or in a very small dose. Neither possibility has been established, and the evidence presented so far does not by itself determine the cause or circumstances of death.
A central question is whether the singer’s existing medication may have interacted with the sedatives administered during the procedure.
According to the report, the 56-year-old physician – the wife – said she had not requested recent medical tests or obtained a full medical history in the conventional sense. She reportedly said Mazonakis had told her about digestive problems, weight gain, insomnia, diuretic use and severe fatigue.
Questions over plasma exchange procedure
Separately, Live News presented new information about the plasma exchange machine used during Mazonakis’ treatment, focusing on alarms reportedly recorded during the procedure and how interruptions were handled.
A nurse described how the machine could remain connected and display signs of operation even when treatment was effectively inactive, after the tubes were disconnected from the patient and connected to bottles of saline solution.
Particular attention has focused on a 24-minute interval during which the procedure was reportedly interrupted, from 3:22 p.m. until it resumed at 3:46 p.m. Investigators are examining what occurred during that period and whether the machine’s operating status accurately reflected the treatment being delivered.