He also reported shooting pains throughout his body. Advertisement. Jeff Glidewell came across Dr. Christopher Duntsch in 2013 while searching for a neurosurgeon . The charismatic neurosurgeon was actually a successful researcher before he starting killing people in the operating . Left: Christopher Duntsch in surgery, Right: Christopher Duntschs mugshot. He was arrested for DUI in Denver, taken for a psychiatric evaluation in Dallas during one of his visits to see his children, and was arrested in Dallas for shoplifting. Death'? 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. Lee Passmore was thirty-seven and worked as a field agent for the Collin County medical examiner. In November 2011, he was hooked on the prescription opiates that numbed the pain in his lower back. No one can pay to remove ratings. Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move and theoretically get a medical license in another state. She was moved to the ICU and died due to blood loss. His case is receiving renewed attention in the media. D Magazine gave him the nickname in . He later recalled that he read about Martin's death on the day before the surgery, but Duntsch cursed him out when he called to ask about it. 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. Out of his 38 surgeries, only three had no complications. When Kirby learned the details, he immediately asked the doctor who referred the case to him about the surgeon: "Is it a guy named Christopher Duntsch?" Homesick, Duntsch left Colorado after a year and transferred to Memphis State University, now the University of Memphis. Duntsch also appears in no yearbooks during the time in which he says he earned his Ph.D. 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. Dr. Henderson thought the operation on Mary Efurd was so botched that Christopher Duntsch had to be an imposter. Donald Duntsch was a gridiron football standout in Montana, and Christopher was determined to follow in those footsteps. On 06/26/2013 MARY EFURD filed a Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice lawsuit against CHRISTOPHER D DUNTSCH, MD. 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. Christopher Duntsch a.k.a. Duntsch told Mayfield's wife it went well, but she instantly knew something was wrong as she walked into his room. In addition, a ligament in his leg was severed, and a screw was stripped and lodged into a nerve bundle. The surgery was scheduled for December 30, 2011. For the last three days, jurors listened to testimony in the . Dr. Duntsch said to Cheney, "I don't know why you're this way. When he called Duntsch's office, he was told it would "go away." The Legislature not only puts the burden of proof on the plaintiff instead of the defendant in medical malpractice cases, but it also allows hospitals to keep information about doctors confidential. Christopher Duntsch is currently imprisoned at the O.B. [9] Duntsch's defense blamed their client's actions on poor training and lack of oversight by the hospitals. On December 30, 2011, Duntsch operated on Lee Passmore. After a fall in her kitchen, Martin experienced chronic back pain and sought out surgery to alleviate it. Christopher Duntsch wrote that he was ready to become a "cold blooded killer". Kane also recalled a cocaine- and LSD-fueled night of partying between her, her ex-boyfriend, and Duntsch where, after the end of their all-night party, she saw Duntsch put on his lab coat and go to work. Though he appealed his conviction in 2018, it was denied. Christopher Duntsch was a neurosurgeon who radiated confidence. My experience with this doctor has been great. He earned his M.D. August 28, 2013, 2:01 . Your trust is important to us. When Martin awoke from anesthesia, she was screaming and clawing at her legs which had become patchy and full of purple streaks and spots. 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. [10][7], Duntsch completed his residency having participated in fewer than 100 surgeries. Ellis Unit prison in Huntsville, Texas. 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 . 11:15 PM on Mar 1, 2014 CST. Christopher Duntsch was nicknamed Dr. Death due to the injuries he caused his patients. He then packed it with too much of a substance intended to stop the bleeding. He is not eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74 years old. Over the course of two years, Christopher Duntsch operated on 38 patients in the Dallas area. South Hampton Community Hospital in Dallas (now University General Hospital). Death'? 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. He will not be eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74-years-old. "[4] The Texas Medical Board revoked Duntsch's license on December 6, 2013. It had come from Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. 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. [38][39] On December 10, 2018, the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed Duntsch's conviction by a 21 split decision. [4], Longtime spine surgeon Robert Henderson performed the salvage surgery on Efurd. In 2006, Duntsch teamed up with two Russian stem cell scientists: Valery Kukekov and Tatyana Ignatova. 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]. Ellis Unit outside of Huntsville, Texas. The Peacock originalDr Deathis based on atrue story. An investigator by trade and nature, Passmore started digging into Dr. Christopher Duntsch. Duntsch is the first physician sentenced to life in prison for his actions while practicing medicine. His resume looked brilliant on paper," journalistMatt Goodman said of Christopher Duntsch's ability to continue to gain employment at Texas hospitals despite a deadly track record. Duntsch filed a patent for the technology, and he listed himself as one of the inventors even though he had not discovered it. A neurosurgery expert for Duntsch's defense team himself said, "The conditions which created Dr. Duntsch still exist, thereby making it possible for another to come along.". Duntsch also removed so much bone and muscle tissue from Summers' neck that his head was no longer secure on his body. Nevertheless, it took until June 2013 to find the "pattern of patient injury" required to justify suspending Duntsch's license, despite receiving complaints dating back to 2011. B. Ellis Unit outside Huntsville. 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. Learn more. He was a forty-five-year-old man with typical back problems. 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. Where is Kim Morgan Now? [37][4], Over objections from Duntsch's lawyers, prosecutors called many of Duntsch's other patients to the stand in order to prove that his actions were intentional. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971. ", "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. Before his license was revoked by the Texas Medical Board, he was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 . His father, Donald, was a physical therapist and Christian missionary. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The show starsJoshua Jackson,Grace Gummer, AnnaSophia Robb,Christian SlaterandAlec Baldwin. She was transferred to a Dallas hospital after suffering from a severe infection, and Randal Kirby was asked to operate on her. While they were in the lab working, Duntsch went to work raising money for a company he called DiscGenics. 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 . It was completely unnecessary, didn't relieve her pain, and only set her up for another needed surgery. The case status is Disposed - Other Disposed. Young had family in Dallas and decided she would go with him if he picked that city. Before going to medical school, Duntsch wanted to be a pro-football player. However, he closed Glidewell with the sponge in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. 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. It involves the case of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a spinal neurosurgeon who left a trail of dead and permanently disabled . "[20][4] Under heavy lobbying from Kirby and Henderson, the Texas Medical Board suspended Duntsch's license on June 26, 2013. "As his victims pile up, two fellow physicians and Dallas prosecutor Michelle Shughart set out to stop him.". It told the unfortunately true story of Doctor Christopher Duntsch, who was eventually sentenced to life in prison for maiming an elderly patient. Dr. Randall Kirby, a general and vascular surgeon, assisted with Morguloff. [35], The last charge was for the maiming and paralyzing of Efurd. February 22, 2017. The process involves cutting a hole in the skull to relieve the pressure in the brain. Kirby, Henderson, and another doctor decided to contact the district attorney, convinced that Duntsch's malpractice was so egregious it was criminal. He later told Glidewell that it was clear Duntsch had tried to kill him. Duntsch initially attended Millsaps College to play Division III college football, and later transferred to Division I Colorado State University. 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 . Unfortunately, when Morguloff woke up, he began to experience continuous pain, paresthesia, and loss of sensation in his left leg. Muse woke up in considerable pain, but Duntsch convinced him it was normal. His sophomore year, he made it as one of the few walk-on players. But, he can only walk 30 feet at a time and cannot stand for more than a few minutes. Did Christopher Duntsch have a wife and kids? 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. [36][11][9] For the same reason, prosecutors opted to try Duntsch for Efurd's maiming first. [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. He remained there for several months before being allowed to return to the residency. 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. She also said they snorted cocaine from a small pile he kept on a dresser in his home office. He was brilliant. Young let him buy her an appletini, and they felt a connection; eventually, she went home with Duntsch. Unfortunately, it's all too real. "If he wasn't doing research, he was out with Jerry Summers, partying," Morgan said in her deposition. Berry Morguloff was Dr. Duntsch's next unsuspecting victim. How could Dr. Christopher Duntsch practice medicine for as long as he did without being stopped? 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. Her husband could not hold himself up; he had no support of his own and could barely speak. Now, a podcast called Dr. Death is breaking down the deranged surgeons criminal acts and shows how drug abuse and blinding overconfidence led to big trouble for the patients who found themselvesunderneath the spiraling doctors knife. When he woke up, he was a quadriplegic with incomplete paralysis. The sponge triggered a severe blood-borne infection that caused Glidewell to become septic. Dr. Death in surgery. Henderson then cleaned out bone fragments and discovered that one of Efurd's nerve roots was gone entirely. [44] The Dallas County district attorney's office called it "a historic case with respect to prosecuting a doctor who had done wrong during surgery. Young said that Morgan visited often. His first and only surgery with MISI was on a Thursday in September 2011 at Baylor Plano. [18] He damaged patient Philip Mayfield's spinal cord, drilling into it and leaving him partially paralyzed from the neck down. After his license was revoked,Duntsch fled from Texas. 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. 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. My surgery was 3 months ago but i noticed difference right away. 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 . In 2005, about a third of the way through his residency, department chairman Dr. Jon Robertson appointed Duntsch program director of the school's tissue bank. 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. February 21, 2017 / 5:45 AM / CBS News. [38], Duntsch is housed at the O. When other doctors discovered the sponge, Duntsch refused to return to help remove it. [13] In 2010, Duntsch moved to Dallas. [4], After 13 days of trial, the jury needed only four hours to convict him for the maiming of Efurd. "Dr. Death" is based on the chart-topping podcast of the same name that, in turn, is based on the horrifying true story of Christopher Duntsch. However, he ignored them and proceeded with his scheduled surgery on Efurd. [9] Texas Medical Board Revocation Order. Advertisements. [11] Several of his friends recalled him going to work after a night of doing drugs, with one of them saying he would never allow Duntsch to operate on him. Updated Dec 9, 2022 at 3:25pm. Duntsch stuffed a surgical sponge in Glidewell's throat to stanch the bleeding. Inside The Death Of Chris Benoit, The Professional Wrestler Who Killed His Family And Then Himself, Archaeologists Just Uncovered A Massive Roman Phallic Carving In Spain And It Might Be The Biggest Ever Found, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Prince Charming, Im gonna change your life, Wendy Young said of the promising start to her romance with Christopher Duntsch. She was left with just one vocal cord. 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, He was held in the Dallas County jail for almost two years until the case went to trial in 2017. She said she thought that he was going to make millions, Kimberly Morgan's friend once said her attraction to Christopher Duntsch. He was put on probation for three weeks and told to stick to relatively minor procedures when he returned. Dr. Christopher Duntsch became the subject of a Peacock original series for all the wrong reasons. executive producer explains how Christopher Duntsch could have avoided prison. Dr. Fulton never worked with Duntsch again. Dr. Christopher Duntsch appeared to havean impressive resume, but left a trail ofpain and devastation for those who trusted him with their health. [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. Duntschs career started off bright. Before he was "Dr. Death" on Wondery's hit 2018 podcast, disgraced former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch was a student at Colorado State University. Fennell is in constant pain, and it took several months of rehabilitation before he could begin to walk with a cane. Death.. [30], Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move elsewhere and still theoretically get a medical license. Shughart argued that Duntsch should have known he would hurt others unless he changed his approach and that his failure to learn from his past mistakes demonstrated that his maiming of Efurd was intentional. However, on January 6, 2012, a week after the surgery, Dr. Duntsch performed another operation on Passmore. He is currently appealing this sentence. 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, during training for neurosurgery he followed a research path and did fewer operations than most trainees. 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. Even worse, some of the patients never got the chance to wake up. 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 is not eligible for parole until 2045; he will be 74 years old by then. When Jerry Summers woke up, he couldn't move his arms or legs. Prosecutors also faulted Duntsch's employers for not reporting him. Death', "Texas Jury Imposes Life Sentence on Neurosurgeon", "The Making and Breaking of Dr. "Christopher Duntsch" (Dr. Death)", "Season 14 of CNBC's 'American Greed' Premieres Monday, January 18 at 10PM", Dr. Death: The Texas Surgeon Who Paralyzed his Patients, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christopher_Duntsch&oldid=1139253982. The hospital called Rimlawi when it couldn't reach his colleague. And its all because of one surgeon named Christopher Duntsch a.k.a. Mr. The pressure was building inside her brain. At one point, he was only able to eat small bites of food at one time. As those watching the show know, Christopher was dubbed "Dr. Death" in D Magazine . He graduated from a top-tier medical school, was running research labs, and completed a residency program for neurosurgery. [42] The four hospitals that employed Duntsch have ongoing civil cases against him. 0:05. To see the rest of Dr. Christopher Duntsch's murder and maiming spree, and the fight to stop him, you'll need to purchase Peacock premium. She also said that he kept a pile of cocaine on his dresser in his home office. Morguloff sought a second opinion on his excruciating pain from Dr. Michael Desaloms. Three holes had been poked into Efurd's spinal column where Duntsch had tried and failed to insert screws. 0:57. Baylor Plano allowed Duntsch to continue operating despite the documented issues with Kenneth Fennell, Mary Efurd, Lee Passmore, and Barry Morguloff's surgeries. Wendy Young knew her ex-boyfriend Christopher Duntsch's medical career was unraveling, but she wasn't prepared for what she said was his bizarre behavior that coincided with his fall from grace as a surgeon.. An MRI revealed that multiple bone fragments in his spinal canal were compressing and adhering to his S1 nerve and that Duntsch had installed the hardware incorrectly. During his short tenure, he spent little time in the operating room. He will not be eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74-years-old. Wendy Young had just given birth to their son and lived there with him. Why do Slipknot wear masks and what do they look like without? Having exhausted his football eligibility, Duntsch decided to switch to a career in medicine. Death,' Dallas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch", "Texas neurosurgeon nicknamed 'Dr. Then check out the horrifying story of Simon Bramhall, a surgeon who admitted to burning his initials into patients livers. Soon after starting Efurd's surgery, Duntsch turned to Kissinger and told him he would be performing a craniotomy on Floella Brown. [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. Duntsch operated and flew out to Las Vegas without securing a call physician. The hospital initiated another peer review, but Duntsch resigned rather than face certain termination. [9], In March 2014, three former patients of Duntsch's Mary Efurd, Kenneth Fennel, and Lee Passmore filed separate federal lawsuits against Baylor Plano, alleging the hospital allowed Duntsch to perform surgeries despite knowing that he was a dangerous physician. Page opened a desk drawer and saw a mirror with a pile of cocaine and a rolled-up dollar bill on top. As he lay there in agony, Duntsch was nowhere to be found. 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. Veteran vascular surgeon Randall Kirby recalled that Duntsch frequently boasted about his abilities despite being so new to the area. For instance, he came to work wearing the same tattered scrubs for three days in a row. Pic credit: Dallas County Sheriff's Office. The series is set to premiere on July 12 and will feature a star-studded cast. However, Duntsch was allowed to resign, and the hospital didn't notify the National Practitioner Data Bankagain. In April 2015, Duntsch was arrested again for shoplifting $887 worth of merchandise from a Dallas Walmart. To become a neurosurgeon, one typically has to complete over 1000 surgeries in residency, but somehow, reporter Laura Beil discovered that Duntsch only completed 100.
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