Dr. Gianluca Fanelli has been placed under investigation after giving his cat Athena a CAT scan at Umberto Parini Hospital in Aosta, Italy, before performing a life-saving operation on the feline. The cat fell from a roof and Dr. Fanelli said she was hanging on between life and death and he felt the only thing that would save her was quick intervention. After performing the CAT scan Dr. Fanelli performed pneumothoracic surgery on the cat in the unit’s angiography suite. Athena survived the ordeal, but the local health authority began an internal inquiry into the incident and referred to case to prosecutors. They determined that Dr. Fanelli could face charges of wasting public money and depriving patients of essential services. In his defense, Dr. Fanelli said he used the hospital equipment after hours, when all the x-rays scheduled for the day had been completed and no patients were waiting for urgent tests. “I’m sorry if all this led to a violation of the rules,” said Dr. Fanelli, adding that he was ready to reimburse the hospital if his actions proved costly. He went on to say, “Being a doctor means carrying out a mission. The driving force is precisely the life that flows in the eyes of those who entrust themselves to your care, and this life flows in every living being. If my cat had died, I would never have been able to forgive myself, especially because my children adore her.”
