[4] [19], Despite both of his surgeries at Dallas Medical Center going catastrophically awry, hospital officials did not report him to the NPDB. [18] Despite this, Duntsch was retained by South Hampton when new owners bought it and renamed it University General Hospital. By this time, however, Brown was brain dead. A deranged surgeon runs amok, maiming and killing multiple patients, unhindered by a medical community sworn to police itself. [4][49], Last edited on 14 February 2023, at 04:48, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Plano, Texas District and County Attorneys Association, "Dr. Duntsch defense expert: "The only way this happens is the entire system fails the patients", "Plano Doctor Suspended After Two Patient Deaths", "Former Neurosurgeon Faces Life In Prison After Guilty Verdict", "What Was Dr. Christopher Duntsch's Background And Why Were People So Impressed With The Man Later Known As 'Dr. [35], The last charge was for the maiming and paralyzing of Efurd. Duntsch did not respond to messages from the hospital for a few hours, then the next day scheduled an elective surgery on Efurd rather than care for Brown. Duntsch lasted about three months at MISI. August 28, 2013, 2:01 . Brown was left in a coma for hours before Duntsch finally acquiesced to her transfer. Watch the trailer for Dr . 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, [18] He damaged patient Philip Mayfield's spinal cord, drilling into it and leaving him partially paralyzed from the neck down. Those words continue to haunt her, and she's tormented by the knowledge that her endorsement caused others to select Duntsch themselves. Despite all of this, Duntsch was retained by South Hampton when new owners bought it and renamed it University General Hospital. One screw was jabbed directly into her spinal canal and had skewered the nerves that control one leg and the bladder. It stars Joshua Jackson as Duntsch, Alec Baldwin as Robert Henderson, Christian Slater as Randall Kirby and AnnaSophia Robb as Michelle Shughart. On December 30, 2011, Duntsch operated on Lee Passmore. He was nicknamed Dr. D. and Dr. Death for malpractice resulting in the maiming of several patients and killing two of them while working at hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. This was the time when Dr. Christopher Duntsch started to turn into Dr. Death. 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. Why do Slipknot wear masks and what do they look like without? I am sorry in advance that this blog post is so long. 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. During surgery, Duntsch operated on the wrong part of Fennell's back. She came in to have two vertebrae fused, but when she woke up she experienced severe pain and couldnt stand. [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. An investigator by trade and nature, Passmore started digging into Dr. Christopher Duntsch. When he arrived, Nurse Kyle Kissinger spotted a hole in Duntsch's scrubs. Dubbed "Dr. Death," the case gained national attention, revealing Dr. Hassan Chahadeh, the owner, said when Duntsch had applied for privileges, his record was clean. Fennell is in constant pain, and it took several months of rehabilitation before he could begin to walk with a cane. At the time, hospitals were not required to report doctors who only had temporary privileges. Philip is one of more than 30 people maimed by Dr. Christopher Duntsch, nicknamed Dr. Death by the media. 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. Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move and theoretically get a medical license in another state. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. The patient was Mary Efurd coming in for a second operation. Marshall Muse was scheduled to have a disc removed in his back. Troy was left barely able to speak above a whisper, had to be sedated for weeks and had to be fed through a feeding tube for some time as food was getting into her lungs. Christopher Daniel Duntsch (born April 3, 1971) is a former American neurosurgeon who has been nicknamed Dr. D. and Dr. Death for gross malpractice resulting in the maiming of several patients' spines and two deaths while working at hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.. Duntsch was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 patients in less than two years before his license was revoked by the . [47] A follow-up docuseries, Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story, was later released on Peacock on July 29, 2021, featuring interviews with some of Duntsch's patients and colleagues, as well as with Henderson, Kirby and Shughart. He is currently appealing this sentence. She suffered a stroke as a result. The day that Brown suffered her stroke, Duntsch operated again. Duntsch had also installed hardware into her muscle, not her bone, so loose that it moved when you touched it. Mayfield also suffered from random fainting spells that happen every few weeks. 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. Floella Brown went under Dr. Deaths knife in July 2012 and shortly after her surgery, she suffered a massive stroke caused by Duntsch slicing her vertebral artery during surgery. He ran two labs, gained experience writing grants, and earned more than $3 million in funding for research projects. When Duntsch finally returned on Monday, he was fired. Officers took him to a nearby psychiatric hospital. CHRISTOPHER Duntsch, is infamously known as Dr Death for gross malpractice. Just one day after his suspension had ended, Duntsch operated on Kellie Martin. 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. Dr. Duntsch assured Muse that the pain was normal and prescribed him, strong pain killers, causing him to spiral into an addiction. Philip Mayfield, one of Christopher Duntschs patients, who was paralyzed after his surgery. The deal required Duntsch to attain privileges at Baylor Regional Medical Center in Plano. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Unfortunately, it's all too real. Under heavy lobbying from Kirby and Henderson, the Texas Medical Board suspended Duntsch's license on June 26, 2013. "[32][9] ADA Michelle Shughart, who led the prosecution of Duntsch, later recalled that Henderson, Kirby, and Lazar contacted her demanding to testify against Duntsch; according to Shughart, doctors almost never testify against each other. Peacock's Dr. Death is a chilling dramatization of the real-life story of former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch. Jerry Summers Was 'Dr. Death's' Best Friend. Former teammates later said that, while Duntsch trained hard, he lacked talent at the game. Christopher Duntsch is confirmed to have injured 31 patients and killed two . [33][34] The indictments were made four months before the statute of limitations were to run out. Trusty would later find out there was no award and it had just been a paid advertisement. [19][16] Kirby claimed that it looked as if Duntsch had tried to decapitate Glidewell and contended that such a botched surgery "has not happened in the United States of America" before. But when he awoke and was experiencing extreme pain, Dr. Duntsch said that surgery had been a success and there had been no complications. Efurd was left paralyzed. When he called Duntsch's office, he was told it would "go away." Following his blunders, Duntsch resigned from Baylor Plano in April 2012 before they could fire him. He was left with pain so debilitating he could not work any longer and now spends most of his days at home. [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. 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. "As his victims pile up, two fellow physicians and Dallas prosecutor Michelle Shughart set out to stop him.". The Dallas district attorney's office subpoenaed every hospital on Duntsch's CV for records of his surgeries. Duntsch is a former Dallas neurosurgeon who, through . 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. Her husband could not hold himself up; he had no support of his own and could barely speak. They met with an assistant DA but got little traction. In my opinion, we had a serial killer in our medical community, Dr. Randall Kirbysays of Christopher Duntsch in "Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story.". Soon after starting Efurd's surgery, Duntsch turned to Kissinger and told him he would be performing a craniotomy on Floella Brown. 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 . If you had back pain, and had tried everything else, Dr. Duntsch could give you the spine surgery that would take your pain away. However, he sewed up Glidewell with the sponge still in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. He was held in the Dallas County jail for almost two years until the case went to trial in 2017. Dr. Death in surgery. Dr. Death was fired before the end of his first week for the damage hed inflicted on Brown and Efurd. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The hospital called Rimlawi when it couldn't reach his colleague. 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. Duntsch stuffed Glidewell's throat with a surgical sponge to attempt to stop the bleeding. Several of Duntsch's surgeries at Baylor Plano resulted in severely maimed patients: Baylor Plano officials found that Duntsch failed to meet their standards of care and permanently revoked his surgical privileges. 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. Updated Dec 9, 2022 at 3:25pm. 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 . DiscGenics says its mission is toimprove the lives of those suffering from the debilitating effects of degenerative diseases of the spine. He had a bedroom upstairs in their Plano house. The television series Dr. Death based on the incident, began streaming on Peacock in July 2021. "It's a miracle," she said in the infomercial later promoted on his website. In May 2013, Dr. Randall Kirby was invited to a dinner by University General Hospital to meet their new neurosurgeon, Dr. Duntsch. Did Christopher Duntsch have a wife and kids? Lee Passmore was thirty-seven and worked as a field agent for the Collin County medical examiner. It was Duntsch, babbling about his family being in danger. D MagazineChristopher Duntsch a.k.a. My experience with this doctor has been great. But, he can only walk 30 feet at a time and cannot stand for more than a few minutes. [10][7], Duntsch completed his residency having participated in fewer than 100 surgeries. is a beautiful and populous city located in Montana U.S. . At the time of their meeting, Young was working as a dancer in a strip club. Death'? Before he was "Dr. Death" on Wondery's hit 2018 podcast, disgraced former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch was a student at Colorado State University. Out of his 38 surgeries, only three had no complications. by Saul Elbein. "[4] The Texas Medical Board revoked Duntsch's license on December 6, 2013. [9] Duntsch's defense blamed their client's actions on poor training and lack of oversight by the hospitals. 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 . [16] In 2021, he was profiled on CNBC's American Greed. Christopher Duntsch. Lazar was scathingly critical of Duntsch's work. Duntsch suggested drilling a hole in Brown's head to relieve the pressure, but was refused permission. 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. Vaccinated people who catch Covid are reporting unique symptoms - the 4 signs to watch for, Man, 34, charged with murder after woman, 63, killed in house fire as family vow 'you'll never be forgotten', Six dead after private jet crashes and explodes in fireball between two houses sparking forest blaze near golf course. While there, he damaged patient Jeff Cheney's spinal cord, leaving him without feeling on the right side of his body. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. The appalling actions of the rogue surgeon and their repercussions on his unsuspecting patients were . [31][16] The inquiry went nowhere until 2015, when the statute of limitations on any potential charges was due to run out. According to court documents, surgeons at the Minimally Invasive Spine Institute soon grew suspicious of Duntsch. [9][10], Duntsch had severed Brown's vertebral artery, and refused to abort despite the massive blood loss. When Jerry Summers woke up, he couldn't move his arms or legs. Passmore can't feel his feet; his chest shakes, his right-hand jitters, he can't run or swim with his kids, he struggles with incontinence, and he has nerve pain that fires through his back. 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. [7], When Duntsch applied for privileges at Methodist Hospital in Dallas, the hospital queried the NPDB. He moved in with his parents in Colorado and filed for bankruptcy, claiming around one million dollars in debt. [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. His father was a missionary and physical therapist and his mother was a school teacher. Wendy Young had just given birth to their son and lived there with him. 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. Duntsch told Mayfield's wife it went well, but she instantly knew something was wrong as she walked into his room. Jurors convicted Duntsch Tuesday of injury to an elderly person in the botched July 2012 surgery that put Mary Efurd in a wheelchair. On 06/26/2013 MARY EFURD filed a Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice lawsuit against CHRISTOPHER D DUNTSCH, MD. He earned his M.D. During his short tenure, he spent little time in the operating room. B. Ellis Unit outside Huntsville. D Magazine gave him the nickname in . The surgical disasters of neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch led to his jailing in 2017, setting a legal precedent. The indictments were made four months before the statute of limitations ran out. [7] He likened what he found when he opened Efurd up to the results of a child playing with Tinkertoys or an erector set. The series follows two other surgeons, along with . When Henderson opened the freshly made incisions on her, he was appalled. 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. He is a graduate of Evangelical Christian School in the Cordova suburb of Memphis, where he starred in football.[7]. By this time, Jerry Summers, his childhood friend, had moved from Tennessee to live with Duntsch. 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Duntsch, aka Dr Death, was sentenced to life in prison in 2017, Dr Death - Trailer for the Peacock series based on the true story of Christopher Duntsch. i feel much better now ! 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. 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. Not only was he not qualified for and held no privileges to perform brain surgery, but Dallas Medical did not have the proper equipment or personnel for such an operation. Dr. Fulton never worked with Duntsch again. His mother, Susan, was a school teacher. They didn't have enough evidence to stop him because he hadn't done anything wrong yet. Peacock's new grisly drama tells the real-life story of Dallas-area neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, who killed or maimed more than 30 patients in the 2010s. Duntschs career started off bright. (Dallas County Jail via AP) Gift Article. Now, his time at the university . Board chairman Irwin Zeitzler later said that complications in neurosurgery were more common than most think.