During a deposition, Megan Krane recalled Duntsch eating a paper blotter of LSD and taking prescription painkillers on his birthday. He also reported shooting pains throughout his body. After several more months of botched surgeries, Duntsch finally lost his surgical privileges altogether in June 2013 after two physicians complained to the Texas Medical Board. His father, Donald, was a physical therapist and Christian missionary. In February 2012, he went under the knife for an elective spinal fusion surgery. For the last three days, jurors listened to testimony in the . The series peers into the torturous crimes of . Death'? Duntsch is a former neurosurgeon born in 1971 in Montana . From 2011 to 2013, dozens of patients in the Dallas area woke up after their surgeries with horrible pain, numbness and, paralysis. [12], Initially, Duntsch focused heavily on the PhD half of his degree. His pain management specialist advised against an operation but referred him to a neurosurgeon named Christopher Duntsch. Duntsch also received forty percent of all revenue he generated beyond $800,000 each year. Dubbed "Dr. Death," the case gained national attention, revealing [16] Kirby also recalled that Duntsch's skills in the operating room left much to be desired; as Kirby put it, "he could not wield a scalpel".[4]. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. Then check out the horrifying story of Simon Bramhall, a surgeon who admitted to burning his initials into patients livers. However, he sewed up Glidewell with the sponge still in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. Base compensation was $600,000 a year for two years, beginning on June 14, 2011. They talked about marriage quickly, and they moved in together within three months. Duntsch's trial has been called a precedent-setting case, as it's the first time that a physician has been convicted on criminal charges for actions in the course of their medical work and malpractice involving botched surgery. Christopher Duntsch a.k.a. It was then that Christopher decided to switch his career to medicine. A deranged surgeon runs amok, maiming and killing multiple patients, unhindered by a medical community sworn to police itself. Baylor wanted Duntsch operating quickly and often so they could be reimbursed for the monies they had advanced to him. Written by Patrick Macmanus, the show will only be available exclusively on Peacock. Now, his time at the university . 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. Legacy Surgery Center in Frisco (now Frisco Ambulatory Surgery Center). Around this time, Christopher Duntsch's behavior became noticeably erratic. However, it wouldnt be long until Duntschs seemingly perfect career began to unravel. Baylor Plano again ordered Duntsch to take a drug test. Duntsch initially attended Millsaps College to play Division III college football, and later transferred to Division I Colorado State University. Officers took him to a nearby psychiatric hospital. However, Mayfield still woke up with paralysis on occasion. Of those 38, 31 were leftparalyzed or seriously injured and two of them died from surgical complications. The show starsJoshua Jackson,Grace Gummer, AnnaSophia Robb,Christian SlaterandAlec Baldwin. 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 . 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. Philip Mayfield, one of Christopher Duntschs patients, who was paralyzed after his surgery. On 06/26/2013 MARY EFURD filed a Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice lawsuit against CHRISTOPHER D DUNTSCH, MD. [7], While in Memphis, Duntsch began a long-term relationship with Wendy Renee Young. Duntsch received his undergraduate degree from the University of Memphis and stayed in town to receive an M.D. Muse woke up in considerable pain, but Duntsch convinced him it was normal. Duntsch had also installed hardware into her muscle, not her bone, so loose that it moved when you touched it. During his surgery, Duntsch didnt installed the necessary hardware to Muses spine and instead had left it floating between the spine and muscle tissue. Dallas-based surgeon Christopher Duntsch was also the subject of a Wondery podcast titled "Dr. Death." (Dallas County Jail) The indictment accused Duntsch of wide-ranging malpractice, including . Chris Dozois, a fellow linebacker with the Rams, recalled Duntsch struggling, even with basic drills, but begging to run them over and over until he got it right. His case is receiving renewed attention in the media. Jeff Cheney later learned that part of his spinal cord had been cut during the operation. Following his blunders, Duntsch resigned from Baylor Plano in April 2012 before they could fire him. Moving made sense for both of them. He died in 2021 of an infection related to complications from Duntsch's operation. How could Dr. Christopher Duntsch practice medicine for as long as he did without being stopped? [18] Despite this, Duntsch was retained by South Hampton when new owners bought it and renamed it University General Hospital. Duntsch also removed so much bone and muscle tissue from Summers' neck that his head was no longer secure on his body. Jurors convicted Duntsch Tuesday of injury to an elderly person in the botched July 2012 surgery that put Mary Efurd in a wheelchair. During this time, he ran two successful labs and raised millions of dollars in grant funding. When Martin awoke from anesthesia, she was screaming and clawing at her legs which had become patchy and full of purple streaks and spots. Dr. Death was fired before the end of his first week for the damage hed inflicted on Brown and Efurd. She bled so much that blood was saturating the blue draping around her body and dripping onto the floor. Dr. Christopher Duntsch appeared to havean impressive resume, but left a trail ofpain and devastation for those who trusted him with their health. In 2014, he developed syringomyelia, a painful condition that causes fluid-filled cysts on the spinal cord. In the end, Floella Brown never regained consciousness because Duntsch refused to transfer her to another doctor in time, and her family had to remove her from life support. Hoyle called the surgery sloppy enough to cancel the remaining four operations he had scheduled with Duntsch and vowed never to work with him again. An investigator by trade and nature, Passmore started digging into Dr. Christopher Duntsch. Dr. Henderson thought the operation on Mary Efurd was so botched that Christopher Duntsch had to be an imposter. His father was a missionary and physical therapist and his mother was a school teacher. Duntsch's next patient was Jeff Glidewell. The Dallas district attorney's office subpoenaed every hospital on Duntsch's CV for records of his surgeries. Mr. 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. As a result of the 2017 trial, Duntsch was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. However, Baylor did not fire him; instead, he was allowed to resign. On December 30, 2011, Duntsch operated on Lee Passmore. Before going to medical school, Duntsch wanted to be a pro-football player. She had suffered from lower back pain for years and was referred to Duntsch by her pain management doctor. Duntsch had his surgical rights temporarily suspended after his botched surgery on Summers and his first patient back was 55-year-old Kellie Martin. Martin would become Duntschs first casualty when she bled out in intensive care unit after her relatively common procedure. This case was filed in Dallas County District Courts, Dallas County Civil District Courts located in Dallas, Texas. The pressure was building inside her brain. It was. ", You know in the beginning he talked about marriage. She was left with just one vocal cord. 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. His older son had been born back when he was at Baylor Plano. Baylor suspended Duntsch, pictured, for a month. Duntsch moved to Denver, Colorado, and went into a downward spiral. Before he was "Dr. Death" on Wondery's hit 2018 podcast, disgraced former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch was a student at Colorado State University. [7][28][16], Kirby wrote a detailed complaint to the Texas Medical Board, calling Duntsch a "sociopath" who was "a clear and present danger to the citizens of Texas. The series is set to premiere on July 12 and will feature a star-studded cast. Where is Christopher Duntsch AKA Dr. Death now? "[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. Christopher Duntsch, known as "Dr. Death" tried to explain himself in rambling emails, but he only made things worse for his criminal case. Prosecutors also faulted Duntsch's employers for not reporting him. A disc in his lower spine had blown out, and the pieces had to be picked out of the space above. Updated Dec 9, 2022 at 3:25pm. The True Story Of Christopher Duntsch, The Killer Surgeon Known As Dr. While there, he damaged patient Jeff Cheney's spinal cord, leaving him without feeling on the right side of his body. As of this date, there have been no summary or administrative restrictions or suspension of Duntsch's medical staff membership or clinical privileges during the time he has practiced at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano.". One screw was jabbed directly into her spinal canal and had skewered the nerves that control one leg and the bladder. Prosecutors put a high priority on that charge, as it provided the widest sentencing range, with Duntsch facing up to life in prison if convicted. Even worse, some of the patients never got the chance to wake up. [9][16], As part of their investigation, prosecutors obtained a December 2011 email in which Duntsch boasted that he was " ready to leave the love and kindness and goodness and patience that I mix with everything else that I am and become a cold-blooded killer. Morguloff had become addicted to the pain killers being prescribed to him by this time. [16][24] Henderson described Duntsch's surgery as an "assault", and concluded that Efurd would have been bedridden had the salvage surgery not been performed. All the while, the operating room staff questioned whether Duntsch was putting hardware into Efurd in the right places and noticed he kept drilling and removing screws. Death. The hospital hired him and granted him temporary surgical privileges until his reference checks were completed. Morguloff sought a second opinion on his excruciating pain from Dr. Michael Desaloms. Finally, Dr. Kirby received a call from Hassan Chahadeh. Passmore says if he settles, he is allowing the hospital to continue to get away with their negligence. Wendy Renee Young and Christopher Duntsch first met in 2011 at a Beauty Shop bar in Memphis. Everything went perfect in there." Despite all of this, Duntsch was retained by South Hampton when new owners bought it and renamed it University General Hospital. [46], Dr. Death, a TV mini-series based on the podcast, began streaming on Peacock on July 15, 2021. B. Ellis Unit outside Huntsville. He is not eligible for parole until 2045; he will be 74 years old by then. She suffered a stroke as a result. Then came the fax, and he saw Duntsch's name next to Kellie Martin's. 3-Jeff Glidewell, another victim of Duntsch's. 4-Michelle Shugart, the woman who brought this all to fruition . There are a lot of explanations proposed for why the real-life subject of Peacock's "Dr. Death" limited series, neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duntsch (played by Joshua Jackson), maimed and . In addition, a ligament in his leg was severed, and a screw was stripped and lodged into a nerve bundle. Baylor officials took Summers' accusation seriously and ordered Duntsch to take a drug test. She witnessed Duntsch put on his lab coat and make his rounds the following morning as if nothing had happened. Barry Morguloff, the owner of a pool service company, was left with bone fragments in his spinal canal after Duntsch tried to pull a damaged, Jerry Summers, a longtime friend of Duntsch's, came to Plano to have, Kellie Martin was undergoing a routine back operation when Duntsch cut through her spinal cord and severed an artery. Jerry Summers Was 'Dr. Death's' Best Friend. Muse spiraled into opioid addiction that cost him his wife and his job. Summers had a credit card in his name connected to Duntsch's account and would drive him around, balance his checkbooks, and pick up his dry cleaning. So as Duntsch operated on Efurd, he quarreled with Kissinger and his supervisors, insisting on a craniotomy for Brown. His father, Donald, was a physical therapist and Christian missionary. Unfortunately, it's all too real. [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. "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. The appalling actions of the rogue surgeon and their repercussions on his unsuspecting patients were . Shughart countered that the 2011 email, sent after his first surgeries went wrong, proved that Duntsch knew his actions were intentional. [30], Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move elsewhere and still theoretically get a medical license. i feel much better now ! Morgan says they spent a lot of time in clubs. He stalled at first, telling administrators he got lost on the way to the lab. Duntsch's defense blamed their client's actions on poor training and lack of hospital oversight. They didn't have enough evidence to stop him because he hadn't done anything wrong yet. The first season of Dr. Death, which launched in 2018 and ran for seven episodes, examined the life and horrific crimes of Christopher Duntsch. The day that Brown suffered her stroke, Duntsch operated again. [7] While operating on Jacqueline Troy, Duntsch cut one of her vocal cords and an artery and also damaged her trachea. Passmore told D Magazine during an interview that he is uncomfortable receiving any attention but knows he must do so if anyone is going to listen. 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." Your trust is important to us. 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. Officers said he was driving on the left side of the road with two flat tires. [48], In 2019, Duntsch was the focus of the premiere episode of License to Kill, Oxygen's series on criminal medical professionals. After the operation, Brown woke up and seemed fine, but early the following day; she lost consciousness. For 33 patients of Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, it was a reality. "He said the patient died from having an allergic reaction to the anesthesia." Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move and theoretically get a medical license in another state. "[4] The Texas Medical Board revoked Duntsch's license on December 6, 2013. Duntsch operated and flew out to Las Vegas without securing a call physician. After a fall in her kitchen, Martin experienced chronic back pain and sought out surgery to alleviate it. Duntsch told Mayfield's wife it went well, but she instantly knew something was wrong as she walked into his room. He was a genius. Though he appealed his conviction in 2018, it was denied. By the end of the week, administrators told Duntsch he would no longer be operating at Dallas Medical Center. It stars Joshua Jackson as Duntsch, Alec Baldwin as Robert Henderson, Christian Slater as Randall Kirby and AnnaSophia Robb as Michelle Shughart. He completed a spine fellowship program at the Semmes-Murphey Clinic in Memphis for his surgical residency, spending the standard five years on neurosurgery and one-year learning general surgery. While Kirby was repairing Troy, he uncovered that Duntsch had pinned her esophagus under a plate near her spine and poked holes in her trachea. [38] Shughart countered that the 2011 email, sent after his first surgeries went wrong, proved that Duntsch knew his actions were intentional. When he called Duntsch's office, he was told it would "go away." She bled to death . Now, one of the several complaints against the . [7], Henderson later recalled wondering if Duntsch was an impostor; he could not believe that a real surgeon would botch Efurd's surgery so badly. The Judge overseeing this case is GINSBERG, CARL. However, on January 6, 2012, a week after the surgery, Dr. Duntsch performed another operation on Passmore. [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. Those words continue to haunt her, and she's tormented by the knowledge that her endorsement caused others to select Duntsch themselves. "Dr. Duntsch is one great man." Page opened a desk drawer and saw a mirror with a pile of cocaine and a rolled-up dollar bill on top. Before his license was revoked by the Texas Medical Board, he was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 . However, he closed Glidewell with the sponge in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. He might have been fired from the Institute but was still a surgeon at Baylor Plano. 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. But based on documents gathered by the DA, when Duntsch finished his residency, he had operated fewer than 100 times. Homesick, Duntsch left Colorado after a year and transferred to Memphis State University, now the University of Memphis. He was put on probation for three weeks and told to stick to relatively minor procedures when he returned. I thought he was either really, really good, or hes just really, really arrogant and thought he was good, Hoyle said. The databank was established in 1990 and tracks malpractice payouts and adverse actions against doctors, such as being fired, banned from Medicare, handed a lengthy suspension, or having their license suspended or revoked. Having exhausted his football eligibility, Duntsch decided to switch to a career in medicine. Duntsch stuffed Glidewell's throat with a surgical sponge to attempt to stop the bleeding. On November 7, 2011, Dr. Duntsch was scheduled to perform his first surgery at Baylor Plano on Kenneth Fennell for his back pain. When other doctors discovered the sponge, Duntsch refused to return to help remove it. Christopher Duntsch, once a supremely confident neurosurgeon with a solid rsum and a wealth of potential, fled town in disgrace last year under a scalding cascade . According to court documents, surgeons at the Minimally Invasive Spine Institute soon grew suspicious of Duntsch. Trusty was never told she was participating in an infomercial and believed Duntsch had been selected as the top neurosurgeon in Dallas and was participating in a video about the award. (The Associated Press) A Texas neurosurgeon branded a "sociopath" by his colleagues could be facing 99 years in prison over multiple charges of intentionally botching . 'Hot TikTok doc' urges young people to get jabbed - warning of dangers of long Covid, Daughter, 39, guilty of stabbing mum to death before setting house on fire and dumping her dismembered body in river, Pregnant beautician loses baby after savage beating by monster husband who kidnapped her amid divorce row, Shocking moment man is crushed to death by an enraged elephant after crowd taunts herd of jumbos. At the time, Duntsch was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 patients in less than two years before the Texas Medical Board revoked his license. They created a method for culturing the stem cells of intervertebral discs outside of the body. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. D MagazineChristopher Duntsch a.k.a. 11:15 PM on Mar 1, 2014 CST. The operation should have taken less than ninety minutes; it ultimately lasted four and a half hours. However, by the time he met Young, Duntsch was over $500,000 in debt. When other doctors discovered the sponge, Duntsch refused to return to help remove it. Despite several warnings from his colleagues that he was not doing the surgery correctly and was attempting to put screws into muscle rather than bone, Duntsch persisted. However, St. Jude says there was no such program at the hospital. In his deposition, Summers admitted he made up the pre-surgery cocaine binge because he felt Duntsch had abandoned him, as both his doctor and his friend. The story of Dr. Death, Christopher Duntsch, feels like something out of a movie or book. Hospital officials were exasperated when Duntsch refused to delay Efurd's surgery, and asked him multiple times to care for Brown or transfer her out of his care. [40][41] On May 8, 2019, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused Duntschs petition for discretionary review. Efurd was left paralyzed. However, things soon went south. Kirby, Henderson, and another doctor decided to contact the district attorney, convinced that Duntsch's malpractice was so egregious it was criminal. A patient who was left barely able to walk and in constant pain after undergoing two botched surgeries at the hands of killer neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch says he 'guarantees' there are other . Dr Deathis a new limited series about the rise and fall of Duntsch. among the top 12 percent of medical school graduates in his class named to the elite Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. In a long running series of complaints, a Texas doctor has been found guilty of a felony in one medical malpractice case. The explanation was enough to satisfy Muse. Prosecutors put a high priority on that charge, as it provided the widest sentencing range, with Duntsch facing up to life in prison if convicted. That's why it really shined down to me," Kissinger said in an interview. Duntsch lasted about three months at MISI. He is currently appealing this sentence. The two went back to Duntsch's home and danced under a disco ball he had in his office. We've had a catastrophic event here. Prosecutors also faulted Duntsch's employers for not reporting him. He then prescribed Muse so much Percocet that a pharmacist refused to fill the prescription.
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