Despite all of this, Duntsch was retained by South Hampton when new owners bought it and renamed it University General Hospital. [27], While attempting to remove degenerated discs in Marshall "Tex" Muse's back, Duntsch left surgical hardware floating between the spine and muscle tissue. [23][19][24], While operating on Efurd, Duntsch severed one of her nerve roots during spinal fusion surgery while operating on the wrong portion of her back, twisted a screw into another nerve, left screw holes on the opposite side of her spine, failed to remove the disc he was supposed to remove, and left surgical hardware in her muscle tissue so loose that it moved when touched. Dr Death, un nuevo programa que llegar a Peacock el jueves (15 de julio), se basa en la historia de la vida real de Christopher Duntsch, un ex neurocirujano que era, como dijo un famoso titular de ProPublica, "tan malo que era criminal".. Joshua Jackson interpreta a Duntsch, que ahora tiene 50 aos y cumple cadena perpetua despus de ser condenado en 2017 por mutilar a uno de sus . A CT scan would later reveal that Efurds nerve root had been amputated, there were several screw holes nowhere near where they were supposed to be, and one screw had been lodged in another nerve root. Dr. Frederick Boop, chief of neurosurgery at the hospital where Duntsch was completing his residency, said that university officials asked Duntsch to take a drug test. [40][41] On May 8, 2019, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused Duntschs petition for discretionary review. Duntsch had come highly recommended to Fennell and wooed him with boasts that he'd soon be head of Baylor Medical Center's entire neurosurgery department. For instance, he came to work wearing the same tattered scrubs for three days in a row. She bled so much that blood was saturating the blue draping around her body and dripping onto the floor. In September 2012, Jeff Cheney went to Duntsch to relieve the pain that had moved from his shoulder down to his arm. "Christopher Duntsch, Texas Medical Board license number N8183, is an impaired physician, a sociopath, and must be stopped from practicing medicine." Robin Glidewell also sent a letter . During surgery, Duntsch operated on the wrong part of Fennell's back. Lee Passmore is still fighting. Over the course of 18-months, the nefarious ex-surgeon performed a spree of botched . Before working with him, Dr. Hoyle said that he didnt know how to feel about his fellow surgeon. Those are the words that Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a Dallas neurosurgeon, wrote to his girlfriend in 2011 in the midst of a two-year period that left 33 of his 38 patients maimed, wounded or . According to Megan Kane, an ex-girlfriend of one of Duntschs friends, she saw him eat a paper blotter of LSD and take prescription painkillers on his birthday. [48], In 2019, Duntsch was the focus of the premiere episode of License to Kill, Oxygen's series on criminal medical professionals. Her husband could not hold himself up; he had no support of his own and could barely speak. He graduated from a top-tier medical school, was running research labs, and completed a residency program for neurosurgery. Berry Morguloff was Dr. Duntsch's next unsuspecting victim. In January 2013, Kenneth Fennell was scheduled for another operation because he was still experiencing extreme pain in his back. Dr. Death was fired before the end of his first week for the damage hed inflicted on Brown and Efurd. This case was filed in Dallas County District Courts, Dallas County Civil District Courts located in Dallas, Texas. Your trust is important to us. Over this period, Duntsch performed back surgeries that left his patients in a worse condition, paralyzed, or deceased. Evil Lives Here: Shadows Of Death is investigating the numerous crimes of former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, who was nicknamed Dr. Death after causing pain, suffering, and even death to multiple patients over the course of two years. His mother, Susan, was a school teacher. He called Duntsch's fellowship supervisor in Memphis, as well as the supervisor of Duntsch's residency; it was then that he learned about the incident that led him to be referred to the impaired physician program. His pain management specialist advised against an operation but referred him to a neurosurgeon named Christopher Duntsch. In July 2015, a grand jury indicted Dr. Death on five counts of aggravated assault and one count of harming an elderly person, his patient Mary Efurd, according to Rolling Stone. [46], Dr. Death, a TV mini-series based on the podcast, began streaming on Peacock on July 15, 2021. Next week marks the five-year anniversary of Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch being sentenced to life in prison. To top it all off, he was operating on the wrong portion of her back. Now, a podcast called Dr. Death is breaking down the deranged surgeon's criminal acts and shows how drug abuse and blinding overconfidence led to big trouble for the patients who found themselves underneath the spiraling doctor's knife.. Even though he lived in Colorado, he returned to Dallas to see his two sons. Jeff Cheney later learned that part of his spinal cord had been cut during the operation. Mary Efurd: While Brown was dying, Duntsch was operating on Mary Efurd, a 71-year-old anxious to return to her treadmill after surgery to relieve her back pain. In 2010, he completed the MDPhD and neurosurgery residency programs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center,[3] and subsequently completed a spine fellowship program at the Semmes-Murphey Clinic in Memphis. He wrote grants and secured more than $3 million in funding. Dr. Promising Beginnings. He hoped to play football, but his multiple transfers revoked his eligibility. Cheney recalled wondering why a neurosurgeon with such outstanding credentials would be operating at a lower-tiered hospital on the way to his surgery. [4], Early in his tenure at Baylor Plano, Duntsch made a poor impression on his fellow surgeons. It had come from Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. The Peacock originalDr Deathis based on atrue story. With Brown still in the ICU, Duntsch took another patient into surgery that morning. Dr. Hassan Chahadeh, the owner, said when Duntsch had applied for privileges, his record was clean. [30], Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move elsewhere and still theoretically get a medical license. "[38], The director of neurosurgery at UT Southwestern, Carlos Bagley, testifying for the defense, said that "the only way this happens is that the entire system fails the patients. She had suffered from lower back pain for years and was referred to Duntsch by her pain management doctor. [14] He persuaded Young to come with him; Young agreed, since she had grown up in the Dallas area. [9][24][19][7] After several days, Kirby was brought in to repair the damage and later described what he found after opening Glidewell back up as the work of a "crazed maniac". In 2011, Christopher Duntsch met Wendy Young at the Beauty Shop bar in Memphis. On April 9, 2013, Phillip Mayfield was scheduled to have a simple 45-minute operation to alleviate his back pain. While they were in the lab working, Duntsch went to work raising money for a company he called DiscGenics. She came in to have two vertebrae fused, but when she woke up she experienced severe pain and couldnt stand. Christopher Duntsch was nicknamed Dr. Death due to the injuries he caused his patients. One of the patients who suffered disastrous consequences was Jerry Summers, the boyfriend of Megan Kane and a friend of Christopher Duntsch. He realized he'd seen that hole for three straight days Duntsch hadn't changed his scrubs all week. The Dallas district attorney's office subpoenaed every hospital on Duntsch's CV for records of his surgeries. The first screening came back diluted with tap water, but a second, taken a few days later, came back clean. When he woke up, he was a quadriplegic with incomplete paralysis. One of the early investors in DiscGenics, Rand Page, said Duntsch would be mixing a vodka orange juice during their morning meetings. Dr. Death in surgery. However, St. Jude says there was no such program at the hospital. They argued that Duntsch was motivated to continue operating because the lucrative salary of a neurosurgeon would solve his mounting financial problems. That's why it really shined down to me," Kissinger said in an interview. Around this time, Christopher Duntsch's behavior became noticeably erratic. One day, he happened to see a fax come in to the medical examiner's office. Duntsch is a former neurosurgeon born in 1971 in Montana . As a result, Summers lost almost 1,200 mL of blood. Now, one of the several complaints against the . is a beautiful and populous city located in Montana U.S. . When Jerry Summers woke up, he couldn't move his arms or legs. He was smart. Updated Dec 9, 2022 at 3:25pm. Board chairman Irwin Zeitzler later said that complications in neurosurgery were more common than most laymen believe, and it took until June 2013 to find the "pattern of patient injury" required to justify suspending Duntsch's license. When other doctors discovered the sponge, Duntsch refused to return to help remove it. In 2014, he developed syringomyelia, a painful condition that causes fluid-filled cysts on the spinal cord. Dhruv Trivedi. Summers asked Duntsch to fix his chronic neck pain from a high school football injury that had gotten worse after a car accident. "Dr. Duntsch is one great man." Duntsch approached Pam Trusty about being on camera during a follow-up visit where she was still in pain. Glidewell was left with only one vocal cord, permanent damage to his esophagus and partial paralysis on his left side. Baylor suspended Duntsch, pictured, for a month. He said, "Randy, you were right. [38][39] On December 10, 2018, the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed Duntsch's conviction by a 21 split decision. As the trial team put it, the "scary pattern" of Duntsch's actions became apparent to the others in the office, leading the DA to give the green light to take the case to a grand jury. During surgery, he cut a major vessel in her spinal cord. So, Summers used the only thing he had left, his voice, to scream and yell, even telling the nurses that he and Duntsch had done an eight ball of cocaine the night before his surgery. A neurosurgeon in Dallas, Texas, who once described himself as a "stone cold killer" was sentenced to life in prison on February 20 for maiming a woman named Mary . Passmore says if he settles, he is allowing the hospital to continue to get away with their negligence. Duntsch severed his vertebral nerve, his vocal cords, cut a hole in his esophagus, sliced through an artery, and mistook part of his neck muscle as a tumor. "[4] The Texas Medical Board revoked Duntsch's license on December 6, 2013. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a motion to intervene in the suits to defend Baylor Plano, citing the Texas legislature's 2003 statute that placed a medical malpractice cap of $250,000, and removed the term "gross negligence" from the definition of legal malice. Death' found guilty of maiming woman during surgery", "Former neurosurgeon sentenced for purposely maiming patients", "Doctor convicted of botched surgery gets life in prison", "Christopher Daniel Duntsch v. The State of Texas Appeal from Criminal District Court No. However, he closed Glidewell with the sponge in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. She was moved to the ICU and died due to blood loss. But, she never reported Duntsch up the ladder or told anyone about the horrors she witnessed in the operating room. The two soon began dating and moving in together within three months. Veteran vascular surgeon Randall Kirby recalled that Duntsch frequently boasted about his abilities despite being so new to the area. After he arrived in town, he secured a deal with the Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano and was given surgical rights at the hospital. Christopher Daniel Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971, and raised alongside his three siblings in an affluent suburb of . Soon after starting Efurd's surgery, Duntsch turned to Kissinger and told him he would be performing a craniotomy on Floella Brown. When he called Duntsch's office, he was told it would "go away." He was wearing the shirt of his black scrubs, and it was covered in blood. Film & TV 'Dr. Death' Condemns Christopher Duntsch, but the Real Culprit Is Texas's Broken Health-Care System I helped break the story on the convicted surgeon, but Peacock's dramatized . Duntsch stuffed a surgical sponge in Glidewell's throat to stanch the bleeding. ", You know in the beginning he talked about marriage. He refused to acknowledge anything was wrong, hindering the, This page was last edited on 14 February 2023, at 04:48. He later told Glidewell that it was clear Duntsch had tried to kill him. He had a bedroom upstairs in their Plano house. Baylor wanted Duntsch operating quickly and often so they could be reimbursed for the monies they had advanced to him. [9] Duntsch completed his undergraduate degree in 1995, then continued on to an ambitious MDPhD program. Their fling was confined to his office at Baylor Plano, and Morgan said in her deposition that he frequently drank vodka and did medical research for hours. It's hard to find a lawyer willing to jump through these hoops no matter how negligent the doctor was, because Texas limits non-economic damages in most cases to $250,000 per doctor. The former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch was finally brought to justice after injuring and maiming over 30 of his patients during surgery and allegedly causing the deaths of two more. Kirby warned him again that it was only a matter of time. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. In one particularly disturbing episode, in March 2015, she said she arrived home to her front door had been locked with a deadbolt from the inside. 0:05. A deranged surgeon runs amok, maiming and killing multiple patients, unhindered by a medical community sworn to police itself. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. August 28, 2013, 2:01 . "I called Dr. Duntsch up, and I said, 'I saw this online.' No one came out and spoke with Kellie Martin's family or informed them of her condition during this time. He was brilliant. Duntschs career started off bright. Christopher Duntsch was a neurosurgeon who radiated confidence. For instance, he upbraided him for missing the signs that Martin was bleeding out, saying that, "You can't not know [that] and be a neurosurgeon. No diagnostic imaging studies were ordered, and no reasonable explanation was offered for his condition. Duntsch earned his undergraduate degree in 1995 and enrolled at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He was tragically mistaken. Homesick, Duntsch left Colorado after a year and transferred to Memphis State University, now the University of Memphis. Christopher Duntsch was just a regular guy who became Dr. Death after he decided to be a neurosurgeon. His very first operation at the hospital would once again turn deadly. Dr. Phil airs on weekdays. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana and spent most of his youth in Memphis, Tennessee. When he woke, he could not move anything on the right side of his body. Young had family in Dallas and decided she would go with him if he picked that city. Christopher Duntsch ended up at Millsaps College in Mississippi to play football and was offered financial aid. Jerry Summers Was 'Dr. Death's' Best Friend. Mayfield died of COVID in February 2021; according to his wife, he had been vulnerable to the virus due to complications caused by Duntsch's botched surgery. The lead investigator on the case later revealed that she wanted Duntsch's license suspended while the ten-month probe was underway, but board attorneys were not willing to go along. The staff told Duntsch that Brown, his patient from the day before, was in critical condition. (Dallas County Jail via AP) Gift Article. Page opened a desk drawer and saw a mirror with a pile of cocaine and a rolled-up dollar bill on top. Duntsch, once a neurosurgeon, is the focal point of the new streaming Peacock docuseries "Dr. Death." D Magazine gave him the nickname in its reporting in 2016. Though he appealed his conviction in 2018, it was denied. He called Duntsch's fellowship supervisor in Memphis and the supervisor of Duntsch's residency; it was then that he learned about the incident that led him to be referred to the impaired physician program. It was then that Christopher decided to switch his career to medicine. He added that many board members found it hard to believe that a trained surgeon could be as incompetent as Duntsch appeared to be.[9]. DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch has been sentenced to life in prison for a series of botched spinal surgeries, reports CBS . In his first surgery after his suspension lifted, he nicked the vertebral artery of Kellie Martin, a 55-year-old Garland woman. It was. Unfortunately, when Fennell woke up from surgery, he was paralyzed from the waist down. Dr Deathis a new limited series about the rise and fall of Duntsch. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! They also believed that charge would be easy to prove in court; Duntsch had been told repeatedly that he was not placing the hardware in the correct position and fluoroscopy images from Efurd's surgery proved this. She was left with just one vocal cord. I thought he was either really, really good, or hes just really, really arrogant and thought he was good, Hoyle said. Written by Patrick Macmanus, the show will only be available exclusively on Peacock. The board called in veteran neurosurgeon Martin Lazar to review the case. The day after Mary Efurd's surgery, she awoke in excruciating pain and could not turn over or wiggle her toes. [10][7], Duntsch completed his residency having participated in fewer than 100 surgeries. ", "Plano's Baylor hospital faces hard questions after claims against former neurosurgeon", "Barry Morguloff's suit against the Baylor Health Care System", "Was Wendy Renee Young Dr. Death's Wife? Dr. Christopher Duntsch's patients ended up maimed and dead, but the real tragedy is that the Texas Medical Board couldn't stop him. Having exhausted his football eligibility, Duntsch decided to switch to a career in medicine. The process involves cutting a hole in the skull to relieve the pressure in the brain. However, part of the problem was proving that Duntsch's actions were willful as defined by Texas law. The hospital hired him and granted him temporary surgical privileges until his reference checks were completed. Duntsch's next stop was at Dallas Medical Center. However, Duntsch was allowed to resign, and the hospital didn't notify the National Practitioner Data Bankagain. 5 of Dallas County (opinion)", "Texas Court of Appeals Affirms Conviction of 'Dr. His name appeared on several papers and patents, and he took part in a number of biotech startups. As a young neurosurgeon in Texas, Duntsch killed . Dr. Death in surgery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Duntsch, https://www.propublica.org/article/dr-death-christopher-duntsch-a-surgeon-so-bad-it-was-criminal, https://www.dmagazine.com/healthcare-business/2021/10/a-witness-to-dr-death-in-the-presence-of-a-sociopath/, https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2016/november/christopher-duntsch-dr-death/, https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/who-were-the-victims-of-dr-christopher-duntsch, https://www.dallasnews.com/news/investigations/2014/03/02/planos-baylor-hospital-faces-hard-questions-after-claims-against-former-neurosurgeon/, https://www.texasobserver.org/anatomy-tragedy/, https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2015/08/25/7-chilling-thoughts-of-jailed-neurosurgeon-christopher-duntsch/, https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/greg-abbott-enters-fray-in-lawsuits-involving-sociopath-doctor/, https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2017/02/a-jury-now-controls-the-fate-of-neurosurgeon-christopher-duntsch/, https://www.thedailybeast.com/victim-of-real-life-dr-death-believes-there-are-others-like-him-out-there?ref=scroll, https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/what-happened-to-discgenics-co-founded-by-dr-death-christopher-duntsch, https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Morguloff-Complaint.pdf. His CV also conveyed he earned a Ph.D. in microbiology from St. Jude Children's Research Hospitals, graduating summa cum laude. Now, his time at the university . He proved to be Duntsch's last surgery; University General pushed him out soon afterward. How could Dr. Christopher Duntsch practice medicine for as long as he did without being stopped? Henderson then cleaned out bone fragments and discovered that one of Efurd's nerve roots was gone entirely. He wanted to become a doctor, and not just any doctor - a neurosurgeon, operating on injured backs and necks. Christopher Duntsch, the onetime Dallas neurosurgeon whose butcher-like techniques killed two patients and permanently injured more, feels made to exist at the center of a work of fiction; perhaps, [4], Upon applying for work, he looked extremely qualified on paper: he had spent a total of fifteen years in training (medical school, residency and fellowship), and his curriculum vitae was twelve single-spaced pages. The story of Dr. Death, Christopher Duntsch, feels like something out of a movie or book. In effect, plaintiffs have to prove a tough case without access to the necessary hospital records. Christopher Duntsch is confirmed to have injured 31 patients and killed two . However, it wasn't clear how much training Duntsch received. [36] On February 20, 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison. We've had a catastrophic event here. Famously known by the Family name Christopher Daniel Duntsch, is a great neurosurgeon and convicted criminal for malpractice.He was born on April 3, 1971, in Montana. Jerry Summers believed that his best friend Christopher Duntsch was a talented neurosurgeon who would cure his chronic neck pain. There were two names on the top page: Kellie Martin and Christopher Duntsch. ", "Assault trial begins for Dallas surgeon who once wrote of becoming 'cold blooded killer', "The State of Texas vs. Christopher Daniel Dunstch", "Life Sentence Upheld on Appeal For Christopher Duntsch, aka Dr. Death", "What you need to know about 'Dr. "If he wasn't doing research, he was out with Jerry Summers, partying," Morgan said in her deposition. Kirby was shocked; he called the owner of University General and warned him that Duntsch would hurt someone, and the hospital would be over. As Burke says in "Dr. Death," "No matter what happens, no matter what somebody does to you or the people you love, all you're gonna get is $250,000. Christopher Duntsch was sentenced to life in prison in February 2017 for his heinous acts. He remained there for several months before being allowed to return to the residency. Although he wasn't a talented athlete, he trained for hours on his own and made it as a linebacker on his high school football team at Evangelical Christian School in Memphis. A Texas neurosurgeon accused of intentionally botching multiple spinal surgeries, resulting in the death of two . The Peacock limited series, based on the Wondery podcast, covers the true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch (played by Joshua Jackson ), whose surgical career ruined the lives of numerous people . However, the surgery had to be moved to November 14 because Duntsch had failed to order the appropriate surgical hardware and equipment. Glidewell was reportedly still suffering the ill effects of Duntsch's operation years later and has undergone more than 50 procedures to correct the damage. You'd like to think . D Magazine gave him the nickname in . During a deposition, Megan Krane recalled Duntsch eating a paper blotter of LSD and taking prescription painkillers on his birthday. After 13 days of trial, the jury needed only four hours to convict him for the maiming of Efurd, and on February 20, 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison. Morguloff sought a second opinion on his excruciating pain from Dr. Michael Desaloms. Dr. Randall Kirby, a general and vascular surgeon, assisted with Morguloff. His mother, Susan, was a school teacher. My experience with this doctor has been great. He did his surgical residency at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, spending five years studying neurosurgery and a year studying general surgery. Duntsch was in a long-term relationship with Wendy Renee Young, after the pair met at a bar in Memphis when she was 27 and he was 40. She says she even filed a temporary protective order against him in April 2012, after he showed up banging on her window at 2 am. 0:57. She also said that he kept a pile of cocaine on his dresser in his home office. Due to these legal hurdles and costly lawyer fees on the plaintiff's part, few hospitals end up having to pay out after facing a malpractice lawsuit. Learn more. Summers remained quadriplegic for the rest of his life. Just weeks after permanently maiming Morguloff, Dr. Duntsch operated on his lifelong friend and roommate, Jerry Summers. Facebook Wendy Renee Young and Christopher Duntsch. Nicknamed "Dr. Death," the story of Duntsch's egregious medical crimes and the healthcare system that failed so many by allowing him to practice received the podcast treatment in 2018 from Wondery, the team behind "Dirty John.". "After building a flourishing neurosurgery practice, everything suddenly changes when patients entering Dr. Duntsch's operating room for complex but routine spinal surgeries start leaving permanently disabled or dead. After the operation, Brown woke up and seemed fine, but early the following day; she lost consciousness. Duntsch filed a patent for the technology, and he listed himself as one of the inventors even though he had not discovered it. Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move and theoretically get a medical license in another state. It told the unfortunately true story of Doctor Christopher Duntsch, who was eventually sentenced to life in prison for maiming an elderly patient. Just one day after his suspension had ended, Duntsch operated on Kellie Martin. There are many sick people in the world, but Duntsch takes the cake for me. July 14, 2021. Duntsch suggested drilling a hole in Brown's head to relieve the pressure, but was refused permission. Kirby, Henderson, and another doctor decided to contact the district attorney, convinced that Duntsch's malpractice was so egregious it was criminal. Anatomy of a Tragedy. I dont know if hes there to harm me or what his true intentions were, Wendy Young said of the harrowing alleged encounter with Christopher Duntsch. [4], After 13 days of trial, the jury needed only four hours to convict him for the maiming of Efurd. [43], The conviction of Duntsch has been called a precedent-setting case, as it is believed to be the first time that a physician has been convicted on criminal charges for actions in the course of their medical work. According to D Magazine, a doctor at the hospital where Duntsch worked said that Duntsch had been sent to an impaired physician program after he refused to take a drug test. [9] He was suspected of being under the influence of cocaine while operating during his fourth year of residency training, and was sent to a program for impaired physicians. The series is set to premiere on July 12 and will feature a star-studded cast. In November 2011, he was hooked on the prescription opiates that numbed the pain in his lower back. Texas law states that hospitals are liable for damages caused by doctors in their facilities only if the plaintiff can prove that the hospital acted with "malice"that is, the hospital knew of the extreme risk and ignored itin credentialing a doctor. [19][25][7] She later recalled waking up feeling "excruciating pain", a "ten-plus" on a scale of 1 to 10. Mr. DiscGenics says its mission is toimprove the lives of those suffering from the debilitating effects of degenerative diseases of the spine.
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