Then check out the horrifying story of Simon Bramhall, a surgeon who admitted to burning his initials into patients livers. Glidewell is still in constant pain and has undergone more than 50 procedures to correct the damage left by Duntsch. Death'? Evil Lives Here: Shadows Of Death is investigating the numerous crimes of former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, who was nicknamed Dr. Death after causing pain, suffering, and even death to multiple patients over the course of two years. Dr. Robert Henderson was brought in on July 28, 2012, to perform a revision surgery on Efurd. Morguloff had become addicted to the pain killers being prescribed to him by this time. Philip Mayfield, one of Christopher Duntschs patients, who was paralyzed after his surgery. He didn't wear underwear. Thankfully, this ended up being Dr. Christopher Duntsch's last operation. 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. 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. Board chairman Irwin Zeitzler later said that complications in neurosurgery were more common than most think. [10][7], Duntsch completed his residency having participated in fewer than 100 surgeries. [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. [4], Longtime spine surgeon Robert Henderson performed the salvage surgery on Efurd. He Was Also His Victim. 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. [12], Initially, Duntsch focused heavily on the PhD half of his degree. Before his license was revoked by the Texas Medical Board, he was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 . During his tenure at Baylor Plano, Kimberly Morgan assisted in every surgery with Duntsch. Passmore told D Magazine during an interview that he is uncomfortable receiving any attention but knows he must do so if anyone is going to listen. But he yearned to play linebacker for a Division 1 team and set his sights on the Colorado State Rams. But based on documents gathered by the DA, when Duntsch finished his residency, he had operated fewer than 100 times. Unfortunately, when Fennell woke up from surgery, he was paralyzed from the waist down. 0:57. Updated Dec 9, 2022 at 3:25pm. In 2014, he developed syringomyelia, a painful condition that causes fluid-filled cysts on the spinal cord. 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." '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. 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. So as Duntsch operated on Efurd, he quarreled with Kissinger and his supervisors, insisting on a craniotomy for Brown. Through it all, Duntsch was able to lure patient after patient under his knife was his extreme confidence. By the end of the week, administrators told Duntsch he would no longer be operating at Dallas Medical Center. Dr. He said even a person with the most basic sense of human anatomy would know they were operating in the wrong area. The Texas Medical Board would later conclude that Brown died of excessive blood loss and a stroke, according to The Texas Observer . 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. 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.". Watch the trailer for Dr . Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana and spent most of his youth in Memphis, Tennessee. Wendy Young had just given birth to their son and lived there with him. No one came out and spoke with Kellie Martin's family or informed them of her condition during this time. A disc in his lower spine had blown out, and the pieces had to be picked out of the space above. Baylor officials took Summers' accusation seriously and ordered Duntsch to take a drug test. Base compensation was $600,000 a year for two years, beginning on June 14, 2011. His mother, Susan, was a school teacher. Those words continue to haunt her, and she's tormented by the knowledge that her endorsement caused others to select Duntsch themselves. Duntsch is at the O. Moving made sense for both of them. He died in 2021 of an infection related to complications from Duntsch's operation. That's why it really shined down to me," Kissinger said in an interview. It was determined during the repair surgery that Dr. Duntsch had not even been operating on the correct part of Jeff Glidewell's spine. 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. Despite his colleagues being [] After intense rehab and his determination, eventually, he was able to use a walker and cane to mobilize himself. She also said that he kept a pile of cocaine on his dresser in his home office. [4] Duntsch also claimed to have graduated magna cum laude from St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital with a doctorate in microbiology a program that the hospital did not offer at the time he allegedly attended. [38][39] On December 10, 2018, the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed Duntsch's conviction by a 21 split decision. He was told he would never be able to walk again. Ellis Unit prison in Huntsville, Texas. However, it wasn't clear how much training Duntsch received. He refused to abort the surgery even after a trauma surgeon colleague and an anesthesiologist warned him about the blood loss. Ellis Unit outside of Huntsville, Texas. They also believed that the 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 he began at MISI, Duntsch hired an assistant, Kimberly Morgan, and she started on August 29, 2011. by Saul Elbein. The sponge triggered a severe blood-borne infection that caused Glidewell to become septic. She suffered a stroke as a result. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971. Having exhausted his football eligibility, Duntsch decided to switch to a career in medicine. Brown was left in a coma for hours before Duntsch finally acquiesced to her transfer. Left: WFAA-TV, Right: D MagazineLeft: Christopher Duntsch in surgery, Right: Christopher Duntschs mugshot. If Baylor Plano or Dallas Medical had reported him to the Texas Medical Board or the National Practitioner Databank, hiring personnel would have been notified something was wrong. Duntsch earned his undergraduate degree in 1995 and enrolled at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He avoided it and disappeared for several days. They created a method for culturing the stem cells of intervertebral discs outside of the body. Young said that Morgan visited often. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971. Baylor Regional Medical Center in Plano (now Baylor Scott and White Medical Center - Plano). "If he wasn't doing research, he was out with Jerry Summers, partying," Morgan said in her deposition. The board called in veteran neurosurgeon Martin Lazar to review the case. [9] Duntsch completed his undergraduate degree in 1995, then continued on to an ambitious MDPhD program. His mother, Susan, was a school teacher. The two went back to Duntsch's home and danced under a disco ball he had in his office. Jerry Summers, who grew up with Christopher Duntsch in Tennessee, was left a quadriplegic after agreeing to let "Dr. Death" operate on his neck. This case was filed in Dallas County District Courts, Dallas County Civil District Courts located in Dallas, Texas. In December 2012, Jacqueline Troy was left barely able to speak above a whisper after Duntsch cut her vocal cords and one of her arteries. He realized he'd seen that hole for three straight days Duntsch hadn't changed his scrubs all week. 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. Boop said that Duntsch spent his final year as an attending physician and could not operate independently. [16][24] Henderson described Duntsch's surgery as an "assault", and concluded that Efurd would have been bedridden had the salvage surgery not been performed. He wanted to become a doctor, and not just any doctor - a neurosurgeon, operating on injured backs and necks. She was moved to the ICU and died due to blood loss. Duntsch received his undergraduate degree from the University of Memphis and stayed in town to receive an M.D. Christopher Duntsch. However, Duntsch was allowed to resign, and the hospital didn't notify the National Practitioner Data Bankagain. Death'? Before the surgery, Kirby related that Duntsch said he was the best spine surgeon in Dallas and the only spine surgeon trained in minimally invasive spine surgery. The former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch was finally brought to justice after injuring and maiming over 30 of his patients during surgery and allegedly causing the deaths of two more. The indictments were made four months before the statute of limitations ran out. Morguloff sought a second opinion on his excruciating pain from Dr. Michael Desaloms. A Texas neurosurgeon accused of intentionally botching multiple spinal surgeries, resulting in the death of two . As part of their investigation, prosecutors obtained a December 2011 email written by Christopher Duntsch. Jerry Summers believed that his best friend Christopher Duntsch was a talented neurosurgeon who would cure his chronic neck pain. She bled so much that blood was saturating the blue draping around her body and dripping onto the floor. Her husband could not hold himself up; he had no support of his own and could barely speak. In 2006, Duntsch teamed up with two Russian stem cell scientists: Valery Kukekov and Tatyana Ignatova. [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. Death.. A Texas jury found Christopher Duntsch guilty Feb. 14 of maiming patients who had turned to him for surgery to resolve debilitating injuries. She also said they snorted cocaine from a small pile he kept on a dresser in his home office. Where is Christopher Duntsch AKA Dr. Death now? 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. The explanation was enough to satisfy Muse. [4] Mayfield died of COVID-19 in February 2021; according to his wife, he had been vulnerable to the virus due to complications caused by Duntsch's botched surgeries. 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 remained there for several months before being allowed to return to the residency. One screw was jabbed directly into her spinal canal and had skewered the nerves that control one leg and the bladder. Dr. Death in surgery. Following his blunders, Duntsch resigned from Baylor Plano in April 2012 before they could fire him. Christopher Duntsch wrote that he was ready to become a "cold blooded killer". When he woke up, he was a quadriplegic with incomplete paralysis. Duntsch's next stop was at Dallas Medical Center. ", "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. The appalling actions of the rogue surgeon and their repercussions on his unsuspecting patients were . Kissinger also noticed that Duntsch had pinpoint pupils and hardly seemed to blink. The problem was that Dallas Medical Center did not perform those or even have the proper equipment to do them. Facebook Wendy Renee Young and Christopher Duntsch. and Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee Health Center. Finally, the board permanently revoked Duntsch's license on December 6, 2013. Anatomy of a Tragedy. Morgan says they spent a lot of time in clubs. 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. Efurd was left paralyzed. 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. [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. Before going to medical school, Duntsch wanted to be a pro-football player. MISI representatives stated he would brag about his capabilities and be critical of the work of other surgeons. "[45], Wondery Media launched a ten-episode podcast series named Dr. Death, focusing on Duntsch. Duntsch's next patient was Jeff Glidewell. Nicknamed "Dr. Death," the story of Duntsch's egregious medical crimes and the healthcare system that failed so many by allowing him to practice received the podcast treatment in 2018 from Wondery, the team behind "Dirty John.". Duntsch continued to medicate Morguloff with prescription pain killers and ignored the change in his condition. Prosecutors sought a sentence long enough to ensure that Duntsch would never be able to practice medicine again. ", You know in the beginning he talked about marriage. 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. i feel much better now ! 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 . There were two names on the top page: Kellie Martin and Christopher Duntsch. Around 2006 and 2007, Duntsch began to become unhinged. In 2005, partway through the six-year program, he became the director of the tissue bank. [27], While attempting to remove degenerated discs in Marshall "Tex" Muse's back, Duntsch left surgical hardware floating between the spine and muscle tissue. [30], Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move elsewhere and still theoretically get a medical license. 2-Dr.Randall Kirby, a hero. Dr. Fulton never worked with Duntsch again. 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 . "He said the patient died from having an allergic reaction to the anesthesia." Premiering Thursday on . 5 of Dallas County (opinion)", "Texas Court of Appeals Affirms Conviction of 'Dr. WFAA-TVChristopher Duntsch a.k.a. During this time, he ran two successful labs and raised millions of dollars in grant funding. 0:05. 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. Although he wasn't a talented athlete, he trained for hours on his own and made it as a linebacker on his high school football team at Evangelical Christian School in Memphis. Why do Slipknot wear masks and what do they look like without? Barry Morguloff, the owner of a pool service company, was left with bone fragments in his spinal canal after Duntsch tried to pull a damaged, Jerry Summers, a longtime friend of Duntsch's, came to Plano to have, Kellie Martin was undergoing a routine back operation when Duntsch cut through her spinal cord and severed an artery. Jerry Summers Was 'Dr. Death's' Best Friend. However, part of the problem was proving that Duntsch's actions were willful as defined by Texas law. B. Ellis Unit outside Huntsville. With Brown still in the ICU, Duntsch took another patient into surgery that morning. He is a graduate of Evangelical Christian School in the Cordova suburb of Memphis, where he starred in football.[7]. A spill of more than 500,000-gallons of crude oil from the Keystone Pipeline in December in Kansas was caused by a combination of a faulty weld and "bending stress fatigue" on the pipe, the . At one point, he was only able to eat small bites of food at one time. ", "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. "[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. Berry Morguloff was Dr. Duntsch's next unsuspecting victim. The sponge triggered a severe blood-borne infection that caused Glidewell to become septic. 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. Finally, Dr. Kirby received a call from Hassan Chahadeh. Muse spiraled into opioid addiction that cost him his wife and his job. Dr. Randall Kirby, a general and vascular surgeon, assisted with Morguloff. [7] He likened what he found when he opened Efurd up to the results of a child playing with Tinkertoys or an erector set. However, during training for neurosurgery he followed a research path and did fewer operations than most trainees. Kirby warned him again that it was only a matter of time. It was. Though he appealed his conviction in 2018, it was denied. Peacock's Dr. Death is a chilling dramatization of the real-life story of former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch. The patient was Mary Efurd coming in for a second operation. 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. However, Mayfield still woke up with paralysis on occasion. He was tragically mistaken. 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. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Dr. Duntsch assured Muse that the pain was normal and prescribed him, strong pain killers, causing him to spiral into an addiction. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. executive producer explains how Christopher Duntsch could have avoided prison. 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. The operation should have taken less than ninety minutes; it ultimately lasted four and a half hours. [7] While operating on Jacqueline Troy, Duntsch cut one of her vocal cords and an artery and also damaged her trachea. 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. The series peers into the torturous crimes of . 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.. No one can pay to remove ratings. On November 7, 2011, Dr. Duntsch was scheduled to perform his first surgery at Baylor Plano on Kenneth Fennell for his back pain. Dr Deathis a new limited series about the rise and fall of Duntsch. Just one day after his suspension had ended, Duntsch operated on Kellie Martin. He is currently appealing this sentence. However, he closed Glidewell with the sponge in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. February 21, 2017 / 5:45 AM / CBS News. One day, he happened to see a fax come in to the medical examiner's office. Duntsch approached Pam Trusty about being on camera during a follow-up visit where she was still in pain. Dr. Death, read about how reckless surgeon Robert Liston killed his patient and two bystanders. 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. Duntsch also appears in no yearbooks during the time in which he says he earned his Ph.D. Fennell is in constant pain, and it took several months of rehabilitation before he could begin to walk with a cane. Despite all of this, Duntsch was retained by South Hampton when new owners bought it and renamed it University General Hospital. Over the course of 18-months, the nefarious ex-surgeon performed a spree of botched . In one particularly disturbing episode, in March 2015, she said she arrived home to her front door had been locked with a deadbolt from the inside. Now, a podcast called Dr. Death is breaking down the deranged surgeon's criminal acts and shows how drug abuse and blinding overconfidence led to big trouble for the patients who found themselves underneath the spiraling doctor's knife.. In February 2012, he went under the knife for an elective spinal fusion surgery. One of the early investors in DiscGenics, Rand Page, said Duntsch would be mixing a vodka orange juice during their morning meetings.

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