'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. The appalling actions of the rogue surgeon and their repercussions on his unsuspecting patients were . 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 Duntsch was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 patients in less than two years before his license was revoked by the . He recommended fusing two of her vertebrae and the insertion of "hardware" in her spinal area. "[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. However, part of the problem was proving that Duntsch's actions were willful as defined by Texas law. He wrote grants and secured more than $3 million in funding. [12], Initially, Duntsch focused heavily on the PhD half of his degree. "He said the patient died from having an allergic reaction to the anesthesia." Young had family in Dallas and decided she would go with him if he picked that city. Christopher Duntsch was a neurosurgeon who radiated confidence. After undergoing physical rehabilitation, Mayfield was able to walk with a cane but continued to experience paralysis on the right side of his body and in his left arm. They created a method for culturing the stem cells of intervertebral discs outside of the body. His very first operation at the hospital would once again turn deadly. In 2006, Duntsch teamed up with two Russian stem cell scientists: Valery Kukekov and Tatyana Ignatova. [33][34] The indictments were made four months before the statute of limitations were to run out. Christopher Duntsch is currently imprisoned at the O.B. 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. 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. Homesick, Duntsch left Colorado after a year and transferred to Memphis State University, now the University of Memphis. Christopher Duntsch is a former neurosurgeon known by his nickname Dr. Death or Dr. D. The Montana native got his nickname for his malpractice while working at hospitals in Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. [9] Duntsch's defense blamed their client's actions on poor training and lack of oversight by the hospitals. Finally, the board permanently revoked Duntsch's license on December 6, 2013. Christopher Duntsch Early Life Story, Family Background and Education. In September 2012, Jeff Cheney went to Duntsch to relieve the pain that had moved from his shoulder down to his arm. 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. The surgery was scheduled for December 30, 2011. It had come from Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. There are many sick people in the world, but Duntsch takes the cake for me. Wendy Young had just given birth to their son and lived there with him. ", You know in the beginning he talked about marriage. Written by Patrick Macmanus, the show will only be available exclusively on Peacock. [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. Under heavy lobbying from Kirby and Henderson, the Texas Medical Board suspended Duntsch's license on June 26, 2013. ", "Doctor Guilty of Felony Medical Malpractice", "Disciplinary actions against doctors have plunged during the pandemic, but that doesn't mean they are behaving", "An Update on Dr. Death Victim Philip Mayfield", "Jeff Glidewell Today: Where Is Dr. Death's Last Patient Now? Dr. Duntsch assured Muse that the pain was normal and prescribed him, strong pain killers, causing him to spiral into an addiction. Duntsch also appears in no yearbooks during the time in which he says he earned his Ph.D. [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. He refused to acknowledge anything was wrong, hindering the, This page was last edited on 14 February 2023, at 04:48. Christopher Duntsch, known as "Dr. Death" tried to explain himself in rambling emails, but he only made things worse for his criminal case. A disc in his lower spine had blown out, and the pieces had to be picked out of the space above. [7] He lasted for less than a week before administrators pulled his privileges after the death of a patient, Floella Brown, and the maiming of another, Mary Efurd. [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. However, on January 6, 2012, a week after the surgery, Dr. Duntsch performed another operation on Passmore. I thought he was either really, really good, or hes just really, really arrogant and thought he was good, Hoyle said. The sponge triggered a severe blood-borne infection that caused Glidewell to become septic. Dr. Rimlawi called Baylor Plano and advised them against continuing a relationship with Christopher Duntsch, but this fell to deaf ears. Left: Christopher Duntsch in surgery, Right: Christopher Duntschs mugshot. Before working with him, Dr. Hoyle said that he didnt know how to feel about his fellow surgeon. It was Duntsch, babbling about his family being in danger. 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. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Death'? If you had back pain, and had tried everything else, Dr. Duntsch could give you the spine surgery that would take your pain away. He earned his M.D. Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move and theoretically get a medical license in another state. Former teammates later said that, while Duntsch trained hard, he lacked talent at the game. Soon after starting Efurd's surgery, Duntsch turned to Kissinger and told him he would be performing a craniotomy on Floella Brown. Jerry Summers, who grew up with Christopher Duntsch in Tennessee, was left a quadriplegic after agreeing to let "Dr. Death" operate on his neck. Premiering Thursday on . Dr. Death (2021 TV series) Dr. Death is an American crime drama miniseries created by Patrick Macmanus, based on the podcast of the same name, focusing on the titular Christopher Duntsch, a neurosurgeon who became infamous for permanently mutilating his patients, killing two of them. 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. Dr. Death in surgery. He's serving a life sentence for gross malpractice that resulted in two direct fatalities and the maiming of more than 30 neurosurgery patients, as told by Laura Beil, the journalist who hosts the Dr. Death podcast, on which the eponymous show is based. Dr. Phil airs on weekdays. He was held in the Dallas County jail for almost two years until the case went to trial in 2017. He realized he'd seen that hole for three straight days Duntsch hadn't changed his scrubs all week. Since Duntsch's departure was technically voluntary, Baylor Plano was under no obligation to report him to the Texas Medical Board or the National Practitioner Data Bank. She was left with just one vocal cord. Passmore focused on recovery and getting back to work in the months following his surgery. Dr. Christopher Duntsch's patients ended up maimed and dead, but the real tragedy is that the Texas Medical Board couldn't stop him. [38][39] On December 10, 2018, the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed Duntsch's conviction by a 21 split decision. Did Christopher Duntsch have a wife and kids? Duntsch continued operating despite clear signs that Martin was losing massive amounts of blood. One of the early investors in DiscGenics, Rand Page, said Duntsch would be mixing a vodka orange juice during their morning meetings. On December 30, 2011, Duntsch operated on Lee Passmore. Why do Slipknot wear masks and what do they look like without? When other doctors discovered the sponge, Duntsch refused to return to help remove it. Dr. Death in surgery. Once, he stopped by to pick up some paperwork. During his short tenure, he spent little time in the operating room. is a beautiful and populous city located in Montana U.S. . [9] Texas Medical Board Revocation Order. Lazar was scathingly critical of Duntsch's work. After the operation, Brown woke up and seemed fine, but early the following day; she lost consciousness. 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.. 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. As a result of the 2017 trial, Duntsch was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The hospital called Rimlawi when it couldn't reach his colleague. He ran two labs, gained experience writing grants, and earned more than $3 million in funding for research projects. He is a graduate of Evangelical Christian School in the Cordova suburb of Memphis, where he starred in football.[7]. He was left with pain so debilitating he could not work any longer and now spends most of his days at home. But, he can only walk 30 feet at a time and cannot stand for more than a few minutes. [38] Shughart countered that the 2011 email, sent after his first surgeries went wrong, proved that Duntsch knew his actions were intentional. 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. Duntsch is the first physician sentenced to life in prison for his actions while practicing medicine. During his surgery, Duntsch didnt installed the necessary hardware to Muses spine and instead had left it floating between the spine and muscle tissue. "Dr. Duntsch is one great man." Henderson then cleaned out bone fragments and discovered that one of Efurd's nerve roots was gone entirely. When he woke up, he was a quadriplegic with incomplete paralysis. That's why it really shined down to me," Kissinger said in an interview. He moved in with his parents in Colorado and filed for bankruptcy, claiming around one million dollars in debt. In October 2011, she registered articles of incorporation to form Duntsch's practice, the Texas Neurosurgical Institute. In addition, a neurosurgeon hired to review Brown's case found that Dr. Duntsch had misdiagnosed the source of her pain and was operating in the wrong place. This case was filed in Dallas County District Courts, Dallas County Civil District Courts located in Dallas, Texas. [4][5] In 2017, he was convicted of maiming one of his patients and sentenced to life imprisonment. 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. Joshua Jackson went to the dark side to play Dr. Christopher Duntsch, who's serving a life sentence for maiming a woman during surgery, in the new Peacock series Dr. Death. Around 2006 and 2007, Duntsch began to become unhinged. [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. Passmore met with Dr. Duntsch and was impressed by his confidence; he would fix him. At the time of their meeting, Young was working as a dancer in a strip club. Christopher Duntsch was nicknamed Dr. Death due to the injuries he caused his patients. (Dallas County Jail via AP) Gift Article. Boop said that Duntsch spent his final year as an attending physician and could not operate independently. According to his lawyers, Duntsch had not realized how poorly he had performed as a surgeon until he heard the prosecution experts tell the jury about his many blunders on the operating table. The surgery was supposed to take less than 45 minutes and ultimately lasted over four hours. 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. 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. Mayfield was taken to a different hospital and told his spinal cord had already been deformed, and the damage was irreversible. While there, he damaged patient Jeff Cheney's spinal cord, leaving him without feeling on the right side of his body. Leaving on April 20, 2012, with a lawyer-negotiated letter saying, "All areas of concern with regard to Christopher D. Duntsch have been closed. Wendy Renee Young and Christopher Duntsch first met in 2011 at a Beauty Shop bar in Memphis. He knew this couldn't have been a one-time mistake. 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." 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. 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. "[45], Wondery Media launched a ten-episode podcast series named Dr. Death, focusing on 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. By the end of the week, administrators told Duntsch he would no longer be operating at Dallas Medical Center. Yet, in April 2012, he returned to work just four months after surgery. [46], Dr. Death, a TV mini-series based on the podcast, began streaming on Peacock on July 15, 2021. When he called Duntsch's office, he was told it would "go away." Duntsch is at the O. Jurors convicted Duntsch Tuesday of injury to an elderly person in the botched July 2012 surgery that put Mary Efurd in a wheelchair. 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. When Duntsch finally returned on Monday, he was fired. Prince Charming, Im gonna change your life, Wendy Young said of the promising start to her romance with Christopher Duntsch. Duntschs career started off bright. [30], Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move elsewhere and still theoretically get a medical license. Duntsch suggested drilling a hole in Brown's head to relieve the pressure, but was refused permission. Duntsch is a former Dallas neurosurgeon who, through . Before his license was revoked by the Texas Medical Board, he was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 . Where is Christopher Duntsch AKA Dr. Death now? Martin would become Duntschs first casualty when she bled out in intensive care unit after her relatively common procedure. To avoid the costs of fighting and possibly losing a wrongful termination suit, hospital officials reached a deal with Duntsch's lawyers in which Duntsch was allowed to resign in return for Baylor Plano issuing a letter stating that there were no issues with him. When Henderson saw the imaging from Duntsch's surgery, he was certain that there would be legal action, and had the salvage surgery recorded. However, St. Jude says there was no such program at the hospital. [10][7], Duntsch completed his residency having participated in fewer than 100 surgeries. 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. Dallas Magazine states that Duntsch became key in supplying samples to scientists for research. 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. Dr. Death, read about how reckless surgeon Robert Liston killed his patient and two bystanders. Baylor Plano again ordered Duntsch to take a drug test. 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.". Dr. Death in surgery. 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. His girlfriend, Wendy Young, had a second son in September 2014. Christopher Duntsch was sentenced to life in prison in February 2017 for his heinous acts. and Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee Health Center. "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. Marshall Muse was scheduled to have a disc removed in his back. Duntsch approached Pam Trusty about being on camera during a follow-up visit where she was still in pain. Dr Deathis a new limited series about the rise and fall of Duntsch. No one can pay to remove ratings. Ghostbar, Dragonfly at Hotel Zaza. He later appealed his case, but lost when his conviction was upheld 2-1 in the Fifth District Court of Appeals . Dr. Christopher Duntsch appeared to havean impressive resume, but left a trail ofpain and devastation for those who trusted him with their health. [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. She was dancing at a strip club in Memphis, and Duntsch's issues with his business, DiscGenics, grew more severe. [7] While operating on Jacqueline Troy, Duntsch cut one of her vocal cords and an artery and also damaged her trachea. ", "Surgeon who wrote of becoming killer is denied bail reduction", "Elderly couple attends court hoping for justice in Duntsch case", "Who Were The Victims Of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, Who Earned The Ominous Nickname 'Dr. [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 proved to be Duntsch's last surgery; University General pushed him out soon afterward. ", "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. DiscGenics says its mission is toimprove the lives of those suffering from the debilitating effects of degenerative diseases of the spine. Muse woke up in considerable pain, but Duntsch convinced him it was normal. That same month, the two began an affair. Ratings for Dr. Christopher D. Duntsch, Inactive. Kirby was shocked; he called the owner of University General and warned him that Duntsch would hurt someone, and the hospital would be over. 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. 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. Glidewell is still in constant pain and has undergone more than 50 procedures to correct the damage left by Duntsch. Then, on July 24, 2012, he operated on Floella Brown. At the time, Duntsch was looking for operating prospects in Dallas, San Diego, and New York. Duntsch is a former neurosurgeon born in 1971 in Montana . Duntsch also removed so much bone and muscle tissue from Summers' neck that his head was no longer secure on his body. In addition, a ligament in his leg was severed, and a screw was stripped and lodged into a nerve bundle. He was left with only one vocal cord, permanent damage to his esophagus, and partial paralysis on his left side. [36] On February 20, 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison. He is currently appealing this sentence. executive producer explains how Christopher Duntsch could have avoided prison. She bled to death . Thankfully, this ended up being Dr. Christopher Duntsch's last operation. On April 9, 2013, Phillip Mayfield was scheduled to have a simple 45-minute operation to alleviate his back pain. The two went back to Duntsch's home and danced under a disco ball he had in his office. However, by the time he met Young, Duntsch was over $500,000 in debt. Facebook Wendy Renee Young and Christopher Duntsch. 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. 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. Three holes had been poked into Efurd's spinal column where Duntsch had tried and failed to insert screws. 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. But, she never reported Duntsch up the ladder or told anyone about the horrors she witnessed in the operating room. Every victim deserves to have their story told, and unfortunately, Christopher Duntsch, aka Dr. Death, has 33. The television series Dr. Death based on the incident, began streaming on Peacock in July 2021. Duntsch arrived at the hospital about 45 minutes after Efurd's surgery had been scheduled. [13] In 2010, Duntsch moved to Dallas. He thought it was odd that Duntsch wasn't working at Baylor Plano anymore, so he called his insurance company, who stated Christopher Duntsch was in good standing. Immediately, he started yelling and cussing at me, saying, 'How dare you? Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971. [4] In an article for The Texas Prosecutor, the journal of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, Shughart and the other members of the trial team recalled that their superiors were initially skeptical when they presented the case, but eventually found themselves in "overwhelming disbelief" that a surgeon could do what Duntsch was accused of doing.
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