christopher duntsch website

Former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch is one of the most infamous doctors ever brought to trial in a criminal case, and with good reason. Philip Mayfield, one of Christopher Duntschs patients, who was paralyzed after his surgery. Glidewell was left with only one vocal cord, permanent damage to his esophagus and partial paralysis on his left side. [7], Shughart argued that Duntsch should have known he was likely to 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. Baylor wanted Duntsch operating quickly and often so they could be reimbursed for the monies they had advanced to him. The Dallas district attorney's office subpoenaed every hospital on Duntsch's CV for records of his surgeries. His mother, Susan, was a school teacher. Advertisements. When Martin awoke from anesthesia, she was screaming and clawing at her legs which had become patchy and full of purple streaks and spots. During this time, he ran two successful labs and raised millions of dollars in grant funding. Before his license was revoked by the Texas Medical Board, he was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 . When he woke up, he was a quadriplegic with incomplete paralysis. Could you take care of it?" 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. Christopher Duntsch was just a regular guy who became Dr. Death after he decided to be a neurosurgeon. Duntschs career started off bright. She had suffered from lower back pain for years and was referred to Duntsch by her pain management doctor. [30], Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move elsewhere and still theoretically get a medical license. 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, [42] The four hospitals that employed Duntsch have ongoing civil cases against 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. Just one day after his suspension had ended, Duntsch operated on Kellie Martin. Duntsch is a former neurosurgeon born in 1971 in Montana . [48], In 2019, Duntsch was the focus of the premiere episode of License to Kill, Oxygen's series on criminal medical professionals. After interviewing dozens of Duntsch's patients and their survivors, prosecutors concluded that Duntsch's actions were indeed criminal, and nothing short of imprisonment would prevent him from practicing medicine again. 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. No one can pay to remove ratings. Dr Deathis a new limited series about the rise and fall of Duntsch. During surgery, he cut a major vessel in her spinal cord. Duntsch's defense blamed their client's actions on poor training and lack of hospital oversight. A Texas neurosurgeon accused of intentionally botching multiple spinal surgeries, resulting in the death of two . [19], In July 2015, approximately a year and a half after his license was revoked, Duntsch was arrested in Dallas and charged with six felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, five counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, and one count of injury to an elderly person. He is not eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74 years old. 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 . Kirby warned him again that it was only a matter of time. Moving made sense for both of them. He also reported shooting pains throughout his body. As those watching the show know, Christopher was dubbed "Dr. Death" in D Magazine . However, part of the problem was proving that Duntsch's actions were willful as defined by Texas law. Updated Dec 9, 2022 at 3:25pm. Duntsch's next stop was at Dallas Medical Center. Jeff Glidewell came across Dr. Christopher Duntsch in 2013 while searching for a neurosurgeon . Caroline is a writer and Florida-transplant currently living in New York City. Convinced that he was a clear and present danger to the public, they urged the Dallas County district attorney's office to pursue criminal charges. 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. Christopher Daniel Duntsch (born April 3, 1971)[1] is a former American neurosurgeon who has been nicknamed Dr. D. and Dr. Death[2] for gross malpractice resulting in the maiming of several patients' spines and two deaths while working at hospitals in the DallasFort Worth metroplex. Berry Morguloff was Dr. Duntsch's next unsuspecting victim. But, she never reported Duntsch up the ladder or told anyone about the horrors she witnessed in the operating room. 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. The Texas Medical Board would later conclude that Brown died of excessive blood loss and a stroke, according to The Texas Observer . Muse spiraled into opioid addiction that cost him his wife and his job. It was. Kissinger also noticed that Duntsch had pinpoint pupils and hardly seemed to blink. [18] He damaged patient Philip Mayfield's spinal cord, drilling into it and leaving him partially paralyzed from the neck down. Peacock's Dr. Death is a chilling dramatization of the real-life story of former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch. In effect, plaintiffs have to prove a tough case without access to the necessary hospital records. The hospital initiated another peer review, but Duntsch resigned rather than face certain termination. That same month, the two began an affair. She was 27, and he was 40. To top it all off, he was operating on the wrong portion of her back. Despite all of this, Duntsch was retained by South Hampton when new owners bought it and renamed it University General Hospital. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971. On November 7, 2011, Dr. Duntsch was scheduled to perform his first surgery at Baylor Plano on Kenneth Fennell for his back pain. It told the unfortunately true story of Doctor Christopher Duntsch, who was eventually sentenced to life in prison for maiming an elderly patient. Death. 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. He moved in with his parents in Colorado and filed for bankruptcy, claiming around one million dollars in debt. [40][41] On May 8, 2019, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused Duntschs petition for discretionary review. Christopher Daniel Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971, and raised alongside his three siblings in an affluent suburb of . But based on documents gathered by the DA, when Duntsch finished his residency, he had operated fewer than 100 times. February 21, 2017 / 5:45 AM / CBS News. Duntsch pierced and blocked her vertebral artery with a misplaced screw and refused to stop despite the massive blood loss. I can't believe that you're accusing me of killing someone,'" Muse recounted. When he called Duntsch's office, he was told it would "go away." 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 . His pain management specialist advised against an operation but referred him to a neurosurgeon named Christopher Duntsch. However, it wasn't clear how much training Duntsch received. Out of his 38 surgeries, only three had no complications. (Dallas County Jail via AP) Gift Article. However, Mayfield still woke up with paralysis on occasion. The explanation was enough to satisfy Muse. He was tragically mistaken. When other doctors discovered the sponge, Duntsch refused to return to help remove it. The surgical disasters of neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch led to his jailing in 2017, setting a legal precedent. It had come from Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971. Dr. Henderson thought the operation on Mary Efurd was so botched that Christopher Duntsch had to be an imposter. B. Ellis Unit outside Huntsville. His father was a missionary and physical therapist and his mother was a school teacher. [9] Texas Medical Board Revocation Order. We've had a catastrophic event here. Yet, in April 2012, he returned to work just four months after surgery. [2][4][19][7], Duntsch moved to Dallas Medical Center in Farmers Branch, where he was granted temporary privileges until hospital officials could obtain his records from Baylor Plano. 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. He proved to be Duntsch's last surgery; University General pushed him out soon afterward. Unfortunately, it's all too real. Christopher Duntsch was nicknamed Dr. Death due to the injuries he caused his patients. Ghostbar, Dragonfly at Hotel Zaza. He is very caring and took the time to help me understand my pain issues. MISI representatives stated he would brag about his capabilities and be critical of the work of other surgeons. When other doctors discovered the sponge, Duntsch refused to return to help remove it. Duntsch approached Pam Trusty about being on camera during a follow-up visit where she was still in pain. Dr. Randall Kirby, a general and vascular surgeon, assisted with Morguloff. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. He decided to turn to neurosurgery, which can be a lucrative field. Convinced that he was a clear and present danger to the public, they urged the Dallas County district attorney's office to pursue criminal charges. "[4] The Texas Medical Board revoked Duntsch's license on December 6, 2013. No diagnostic imaging studies were ordered, and no reasonable explanation was offered for his condition. 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. Once, he stopped by to pick up some paperwork. Then check out the horrifying story of Simon Bramhall, a surgeon who admitted to burning his initials into patients livers. Part of the problem was being able to prove that Duntsch's actions were willful as defined by Texas law. Dr. Duntsch said to Cheney, "I don't know why you're this way. [36][11][9] For the same reason, prosecutors opted to try Duntsch for Efurd's maiming first. 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. While they were in the lab working, Duntsch went to work raising money for a company he called DiscGenics. Trusty would later find out there was no award and it had just been a paid advertisement. The story of Dr. Death, Christopher Duntsch, feels like something out of a movie or book. 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. During a deposition, Megan Krane recalled Duntsch eating a paper blotter of LSD and taking prescription painkillers on his birthday. ", "Greg Abbott Enters Fray in Lawsuits Involving "Sociopath" Doctor", "Abbott sides with Baylor hospital in neurosurgeon lawsuit", "Who Are Robert Henderson And Randall Kirby, The Surgeons Who Tried To Stop 'Dr. [8] Duntsch returned home to attend Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis). 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. 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. Duntsch continued to medicate Morguloff with prescription pain killers and ignored the change in his condition. Death'? Ratings for Dr. Christopher D. Duntsch, Inactive. Duntsch earned his undergraduate degree in 1995 and enrolled at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Where is Christopher Duntsch AKA Dr. Death now? But when he awoke and was experiencing extreme pain, Dr. Duntsch said that surgery had been a success and there had been no complications. However, during training for neurosurgery he followed a research path and did fewer operations than most trainees. South Hampton Community Hospital in Dallas (now University General Hospital). He stalled at first, telling administrators he got lost on the way to the lab. The Legislature has also made suing hospitals difficult. Leaving on April 20, 2012, with a lawyer-negotiated letter saying, "All areas of concern with regard to Christopher D. Duntsch have been closed. 0:05. [7], When Duntsch applied for privileges at Methodist Hospital in Dallas, the hospital queried the NPDB. Robert Lowes. Christopher Daniel Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971, and raised alongside his three siblings in an affluent suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. August 28, 2013, 2:01 . On May 24, 2011, Christopher Duntsch signed a physician services agreement with Rimlawi and Won's Minimally Invasive Spine Institute (MISI) in Dallas. 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. In 2006, Duntsch teamed up with two Russian stem cell scientists: Valery Kukekov and Tatyana Ignatova. In my opinion, we had a serial killer in our medical community, Dr. Randall Kirbysays of Christopher Duntsch in "Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story.". Duntsch had his surgical rights temporarily suspended after his botched surgery on Summers and his first patient back was 55-year-old Kellie Martin. He was a genius. It was determined during the repair surgery that Dr. Duntsch had not even been operating on the correct part of Jeff Glidewell's spine. Soon afterward, he severely maimed Jeff Glidewell after mistaking part of his neck muscle for a tumor during a routine cervical fusion, severing one of his vocal cords, cutting a hole in his esophagus and slicing an artery. [38] Shughart countered that the 2011 email, sent after his first surgeries went wrong, proved that Duntsch knew his actions were intentional. 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. 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. 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 they snorted cocaine from a small pile he kept on a dresser in his home office. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Jerry Summers Was 'Dr. Death's' Best Friend. This meant Summers could still feel pain, but was unable to move from the neck down. In November 2011, he was hooked on the prescription opiates that numbed the pain in his lower back. "Something was wrong," Dr. Rimlawi said, "whether it be impairment from drugs, alcohol, mental illness, or a combination of all three." Jurors convicted Duntsch Tuesday of injury to an elderly person in the botched July 2012 surgery that put Mary Efurd in a wheelchair. You'd like to think . The case highlights the risks of allowing a troubled physician to move to another hospital . At the time, hospitals were not required to report doctors who only had temporary privileges. Three holes had been poked into Efurd's spinal column where Duntsch had tried and failed to insert screws. Christopher Duntsch a.k.a. However, it wouldnt be long until Duntschs seemingly perfect career began to unravel. Dr. Death, read about how reckless surgeon Robert Liston killed his patient and two bystanders. Boop said that Duntsch spent his final year as an attending physician and could not operate independently. Jerry Summers, who grew up with Christopher Duntsch in Tennessee, was left a quadriplegic after agreeing to let "Dr. Death" operate on his neck. 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. [35], The last charge was for the maiming and paralyzing of Efurd. [4], After 13 days of trial, the jury needed only four hours to convict him for the maiming of Efurd. He didn't wear underwear. When Henderson saw the imaging from Duntsch's surgery, he was certain that there would be legal action, and had the salvage surgery recorded. He was sent to a program for impaired physicians when he returned but was allowed to finish his residency. My experience with this doctor has been great. The suit alleged that Baylor Plano made an average net profit of $65,000 on every spinal surgery performed by Duntsch. He might have been fired from the Institute but was still a surgeon at Baylor Plano. However, by the time he met Young, Duntsch was over $500,000 in debt. A deranged surgeon runs amok, maiming and killing multiple patients, unhindered by a medical community sworn to police itself. 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. He earned his M.D. Baylor officials took Summers' accusation seriously and ordered Duntsch to take a drug test. 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.". Christopher was raised along with his three younger siblings in a wealthy suburb in Memphis, Tennessee. And its all because of one surgeon named Christopher Duntsch a.k.a. Duntsch recommended fusing Morguloff's L5-S1 vertebrae, and the surgery was scheduled for January 11, 2012. Duntsch was suspected of having used cocaine the night before the operation. Facebook Wendy Renee Young and Christopher Duntsch. As a result, Summers lost almost 1,200 mL of blood. The nursing staff put down towels to soak it up. [27], While attempting to remove degenerated discs in Marshall "Tex" Muse's back, Duntsch left surgical hardware floating between the spine and muscle tissue. Dr. Fulton never worked with Duntsch again. Due to the debilitating pain, Fennell later had a second operation by Duntsch to relieve it, and was left significantly paralyzed in his legs. In July 2015, Duntsch was arrested in Dallas and charged with six felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, five counts of aggravated assault causing severe bodily injury, and one count of injury to an elderly person. However, he sewed up Glidewell with the sponge still in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. Death,' Dallas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch", "Texas neurosurgeon nicknamed 'Dr. He had complex regional pain syndrome, a rare type of chronic pain that caused his skin to blister and peel off. "If he wasn't doing research, he was out with Jerry Summers, partying," Morgan said in her deposition. Next week marks the five-year anniversary of Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch being sentenced to life in prison. It involves the case of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a spinal neurosurgeon who left a trail of dead and permanently disabled . In addition, a ligament in his leg was severed, and a screw was stripped and lodged into a nerve bundle. 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. The operation should have taken less than ninety minutes; it ultimately lasted four and a half hours. [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. Every victim deserves to have their story told, and unfortunately, Christopher Duntsch, aka Dr. Death, has 33. For the last three days, jurors listened to testimony in the . But police say an email Duntsch wrote in 2011 points to his mind-set in the months before he "intentionally, knowingly and . As he lay there in agony, Duntsch was nowhere to be found. However, on January 6, 2012, a week after the surgery, Dr. Duntsch performed another operation on Passmore. As a result of the 2017 trial, Duntsch was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. [6], Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana and spent most of his youth in Memphis, Tennessee. Duntsch is a former Dallas neurosurgeon who, through . He felt that anyone with a basic knowledge of human anatomy would know that he was operating in the wrong area of Efurd's back. On December 30, 2011, Duntsch operated on Lee Passmore. Duntsch boasted to his assistant and mistress, Kimberly Morgan, 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." 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. He recommended fusing two of her vertebrae and the insertion of "hardware" in her spinal area. She bled to death . 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. [13] In 2010, Duntsch moved to Dallas. [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. 5 of Dallas County (opinion)", "Texas Court of Appeals Affirms Conviction of 'Dr. But he yearned to play linebacker for a Division 1 team and set his sights on the Colorado State Rams. "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. 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. 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 . 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.". After intense rehab and his determination, eventually, he was able to use a walker and cane to mobilize himself. Duntsch is a serial maimer and killer. After a breath test, Duntsch was arrested for DUI and sent to a detox facility. Young said that Morgan visited often. Left: Christopher Duntsch in surgery, Right: Christopher Duntschs mugshot. 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 . Lee Passmore was thirty-seven and worked as a field agent for the Collin County medical examiner. Left: WFAA-TV, Right: D MagazineLeft: Christopher Duntsch in surgery, Right: Christopher Duntschs mugshot. [18] Despite this, Duntsch was retained by South Hampton when new owners bought it and renamed it University General Hospital. He was then brought on board at the Dallas Medical Center where he continued his carnage.

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