HE was dubbed the Man With The Golden Hands and had the cult status
of a movie star.
But, behind the scenes, pioneering surgeon Dr Christiaan Barnard thrived on a fascinating lifestyle of champagne, beautiful women and
serial infidelity.
Now 76, the surgeon who shot to fame after performing the
world's first heart transplant is about to have his intriguing past
of charm and deceit laid bare.
His beautiful third wife Karin, who was just 18 when they met, has
served divorce papers on her husband of 11 years after discovering
Viagra and condoms in his toilet bag.
The couple, who have two children - Armin, 11 and two-year-old Lara
- are believed to have been living separate lives for some time.
Now Karin is accusing Barnard of adultery. If true, it won't
be the first time the self-confessed "unfaithful b*****d" has
let down a woman.
Screen legend Sophia Loren was so smitten by a younger Barnard that
she invented a pasta dish in his honour, called Lasagne Pasticatta a La
Christiaan Barnard.
And Italian beauty Gina Lollobrigida - who once drove Barnard to
his hotel in a Jaguar naked but for her mink coat - called him a
"cheap publicity seeker" after he spoke of their affair.
Barnard is obsessed with ageing and has admitted his looks have
always been more important to him than his surgical skills. He has had a
series of injections of lamb foetus cells in a bid to halt his physical
decline and applies anti-wrinkle cream religiously - but to no avail.
Barnard, who lives in Cape Town, admits his reflection in the
mirror causes him "pain" and that he worships youth, which may
account for his obsession with young, beautiful women.
The soon-to-be-ex Mrs Barnard claims her husband taunted her about
his desire for sexual adventures elsewhere and that he humiliated her by
flirting with other women.
Now 35, Karin wants to overturn the conditions of a pre-nuptial
agreement she signed in her early 20s, insisting she did not understand
the full significance of the agreement.
Despite Barnard's millions, Karin is looking for a
relatively-modest settlement, as well as custody of their two children.
She wants pounds 500 a month for each child, school fees and medical aid
insurance, plus pounds 2000 a month for herself.
But a clearly-furious Barnard has vowed to see his wife in court.
His lawyer Amanda Catto said: "This was unnecessary and
uncalled for. The statements made in the particulars of claim are
flagrantly inaccurate. The divorce was not Dr Barnard's idea, it
was Karin's, and the legal team assisting Dr Barnard have been
instructed to handle the divorce in a dignified manner."
Dr Barnard shot to fame when, in 1967, he transplanted the heart of
25-year-old road accident victim Denise Darvali into the body of
56-year-old Louis Washkansky.
The operation, which took place in his native Cape Town, was the
first of its kind, but was dismissed by Barnard as merely a
"technical breakthrough".
The dashing doctor immediately became as celebrated for his good
looks as his surgical skill and the beautiful people of the era sought
him out.
He once said: "I became an overnight celebrity and nothing can
prepare you for that. I was invited to all sorts of places and
introduced to lots of beautiful women, not because I was a great guy,
but because my status added something to the parties."
His jet-set lifestyle was a great step up for the boy raised in a
poverty-stricken household on a diet of bread and golden syrup.
His professional colleagues were dismayed at this pioneer's
antics, but he said: "I suppose they would have preferred me to
have a miserable married life, wear drab clothes and big black shoes
with rounded toes."
Instead, he snubbed his nose at convention and flaunted his
tailored clothes and celebrity connections, marrying girls young enough
to be his daughter.
He says: "I believe at one stage I was one of the most popular
people in the world." He certainly wasn't popular with his
first wife, Louwtjie, who left him after finding a love letter from Gina
Lollobrigida.
She could not cope with her husband's fame - and the pleasure
he took in it.
He explained: "It was like somebody who has been starving all
his life and suddenly the table is full. You can't blame a man if
he starts eating."
But Louwtjie hated the paparazzi snaps of her husband in the
company of beautiful women and the constant media attention.
After 12 years of marriage, and two years after the heart
transplant operation, they divorced. His son by Louwtjie, Andre,
committed suicide in 1984.
His second wife, Barbara Silva, was said by Patrick Lichfield to be
the most beautiful woman he had ever photographed.
Daughter of a South African industrialist, German-born Barbara -
who died of cancer eight months ago - was only 19 when she became
engaged to Barnard in 1969.
They had two sons, Frederick, 26, and Christiaan, 23, during their
12-year marriage.
Meanwhile, Barnard's career soared. His first transplant
patient had died of pneumonia 18 days after the operation, but his
sixth, Dirk Van Zyl, survived a record-breaking 23 years.
Barnard went on to pioneer the technique of giving patients
"piggy-back" second hearts to assist their own and was the
first surgeon to transplant a baboon's heart into a human being.
He also became a keen advocate of euthanasia, believing quality of
life to be more important than longevity, and spoke out against the
South Africa apartheid regime.
In 1973, he and Barbara were seriously injured when a van knocked
them down outside their favourite Italian restaurant in Cape Town. Many
believed this was an attempted assassination by opponents of his
anti-apartheid stance.
At the time, his future in medicine was in question, but he
recovered. He did not retire from surgery until 1983 after developing
rheumatoid arthritis in his hands.
Though the condition caused him pain, the forced retiral from
surgery did not.
Barnard became a thriller writer and unashamedly traded on his
legendary name. His only regret, it seemed, was not doing it sooner.
He said: "I didn't make money out of my fame and my
popularity until I retired and, by then, a lot of it had disappeared.
"I was criticised for being a womaniser, but I never pretended
I was a saint. I was always honest about the fact that I am a normal
human being.
"Trouble was, people wanted me to be a dedicated doctor who
never did anything wrong in his life. The stories about me were
incredible."
Perhaps it was this persecution complex that drew the late Princess
of Wales to him.
He dined with her on occasion at Kensington Palace and told the
Johannesburg Sunday Times that she had sought his help in her bid to
begin a new life in South Africa.
Barnard also claimed that Diana had asked him to try to find a job
for Dr Hasnat Khan, the London-based heart surgeon whom she was alleged
to have fallen for.
He said: "There was no doubt in my mind she was very much in
love with Khan and would have married him if he had agreed."
Now the doctor once known as "Lucky" Barnard must contend
with his wife's wrath.
He said recently: "It was difficult for my first two wives to
have me away from home and to see photographs of me surrounded by
beautiful women.
"But Karin is confident and if she saw one of those photos,
she wouldn't care."
She certainly cared when she examined the contents of his toilet
bag.
COPYRIGHT 1999 Scottish Daily Record Sunday
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1999 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
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