A woman has come forward with a fresh complaint about the Kolonaki clinic at the centre of the investigation into the death of Greek singer Giorgos Mazonakis, claiming one of the two accused doctors told her she had been “the queen of lost Atlantis” in a past life.
Karolina Lazarou told Proto Thema she first visited the practice run by Dr Ioanna Gaka and her husband, Ilias Theodoropoulos, on Karneadou Street in central Athens in 2015. She said the couple had given a room at the clinic to Nasos Komianos, Mazonakis’ hypnotherapist, who offered hypnotherapy to women with gynaecological problems on the premise that clearing the mind would also heal the body.
Mazonakis died at the clinic, and Gaka and Theodoropoulos have been remanded in custody while investigators examine, among other things, how staff responded to the machine’s alerts and when paramedics were called.
Lazarou said she was 20 at the time and had been referred by friends, hoping to treat hormonal problems and lose weight. She said Theodoropoulos spoke to her arrogantly, telling her that no one could touch him, before sending her straight to his wife, who introduced herself as a gynaecologist.
When she began explaining her symptoms, Lazarou said, Gaka cut her short. “You don’t need to tell me, the machine will tell us all,” she recalled the doctor saying.
Gaka then had her lie back in an armchair and attached wires to her head, arms, chest and legs. The device supposedly revealed inflammation and conditions her body would be prone to in future, which the doctor linked to emotions. “She told me that to cure my hormonal problems and heal my body, I first had to heal my negative emotions,” Lazarou said.
“The funniest part was that the same machine could apparently see my past life too. She told me I was the ‘queen of lost Atlantis‘. And remember, I was 20,” she said, adding that this was only the first part of the examination.
Gaka then took her to her office, where a second machine, which she called “indigo”, was set up. Lazarou said she was wired up again before the doctor placed a glass of water on the device, which was supposedly connected to her computer. “She told me the water cleanses inflammation and emotions,” Lazarou said, explaining that Gaka claimed to monitor, adjust and clear everything on screen.
After Lazarou paid €300 at the end of the visit, Gaka gave her a list of supplements meant to “unblock” her system and help her lose the seven kilos she wanted to shed. The doctor also recommended what she called hydrotherapy, an intravenous vitamin drip costing €1,000. Lazarou agreed and booked the treatment for her next appointment.
“The moment the fluid entered my bloodstream, I fainted”
Her mother, alarmed by what she heard, refused to let her return alone and went with her to the second appointment. In front of her mother, Gaka repeatedly tried and failed to find a vein with a cannula.
“I had started to feel dizzy, I was collapsing, I couldn’t communicate with anyone around me, and as soon as the fluid went into me, I fainted,” Lazarou said.
Her shocked mother told the doctor to stop at once, since the girl was clearly unwell. “She kept saying ‘no, no, I’m not stopping, there’s no need to stop’,” Lazarou said. Her mother removed everything and carried her out of the clinic. “I was in a terrible state, as far as I remember. My mother literally saved me.”
“Hypnotherapy to cleanse the body of urinary infections”
Lazarou said Komianos was also practising at the Karneadou clinic in 2015, and a friend of hers had sessions with him there, although she herself chose not to.
Her friend had a urinary tract infection and was told that hypnotherapy would first cleanse her mind and then rid her body of the infections. “My friend went twice back then, with no result. All she felt was relaxed in the armchair he had her lie back in,” Lazarou said. “We’re talking about unthinkable things, honestly.”
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