Pic credit: Dallas County Sheriff's Office. Mayfield was taken to a different hospital and told his spinal cord had already been deformed, and the damage was irreversible. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971. [13] In 2010, Duntsch moved to Dallas. D MagazineChristopher Duntsch a.k.a. Lee Passmore is still fighting. 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. By the end of the week, administrators told Duntsch he would no longer be operating at Dallas Medical Center. Now, one of the several complaints against the . One day, he happened to see a fax come in to the medical examiner's office. There were two names on the top page: Kellie Martin and Christopher Duntsch. July 14, 2021. "Dr. Duntsch is one great man." [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. It involves the case of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a spinal neurosurgeon who left a trail of dead and permanently disabled . [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. When he woke, he could not move anything on the right side of his body. 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.". Lazar was scathingly critical of Duntsch's work. Jerry Summers, who grew up with Christopher Duntsch in Tennessee, was left a quadriplegic after agreeing to let "Dr. Death" operate on his neck. 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. Shughart countered that the 2011 email, sent after his first surgeries went wrong, proved that Duntsch knew his actions were intentional. When Martin awoke from anesthesia, she was screaming and clawing at her legs which had become patchy and full of purple streaks and spots. 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 ran two labs, gained experience writing grants, and earned more than $3 million in funding for research projects. Legacy Surgery Center in Frisco (now Frisco Ambulatory Surgery Center). 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. 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. They argued that Duntsch was motivated to continue operating because the lucrative salary of a neurosurgeon would solve his mounting financial problems. Christopher Duntsch, 44, faces up to life in prison if convicted. Texas law states that hospitals are liable for damages caused by doctors in their facilities only if the plaintiff can prove that the hospital acted with "malice"that is, the hospital knew of the extreme risk and ignored itin credentialing a doctor. 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. Though he appealed his conviction in 2018, it was denied. Dhruv Trivedi. At one point, an assisting surgeon named Dr. Hoyle observed Duntsch performing such alarming and erratic behavior; he grabbed his hands and pleaded with him to stop. 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. The True Story Of Christopher Duntsch, The Killer Surgeon Known As Dr. While there, he damaged patient Jeff Cheney's spinal cord, leaving him without feeling on the right side of his body. They talked about marriage quickly, and they moved in together within three months. The last charge was for the maiming and paralyzing of Efurd. Board chairman Irwin Zeitzler later said that complications in neurosurgery were more common than most think. Peacock's Dr. Death is a chilling dramatization of the real-life story of former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch. 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. 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. Passmore met with Dr. Duntsch and was impressed by his confidence; he would fix him. Over the span of a few years, he managed to maim and injure over 30 patients, with two more dying during and shortly after undergoing surgery with him. [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. In October 2011, she registered articles of incorporation to form Duntsch's practice, the Texas Neurosurgical Institute. Once, he stopped by to pick up some paperwork. Then, on July 24, 2012, he operated on Floella Brown. "As his victims pile up, two fellow physicians and Dallas prosecutor Michelle Shughart set out to stop him.". His case is receiving renewed attention in the media. The day that Brown suffered her stroke, Duntsch operated again. He secured investments in Discgenics from local spine surgeons, including Dr. Robertson and Dr. Kevin Foley, a prominent Memphis neurosurgeon Duntsch spent a year training under as part of the surgery fellowship at the Semmes-Murphey Clinic. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971. Passmore focused on recovery and getting back to work in the months following his surgery. His father, Donald, was a physical therapist and Christian missionary, and his mother, Susan, was a schoolteacher. Kenneth Fennell, the first patient Duntsch operated on at Baylor Plano, was left with chronic pain after Duntsch operated on the wrong part of his back. Where is Kim Morgan Now? [19][25][7] She later recalled waking up feeling "excruciating pain", a "ten-plus" on a scale of 1 to 10. 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. Dr. Randall Kirby, a general and vascular surgeon, assisted with Morguloff. Part of the problem was being able to prove that Duntsch's actions were willful as defined by Texas law. His pain management specialist advised against an operation but referred him to a neurosurgeon named Christopher Duntsch. If you had back pain, and had tried everything else, Dr. Duntsch could give you the spine surgery that would take your pain away. [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. 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. 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.". Kirby was shocked; he called the owner of University General and warned him that Duntsch would hurt someone, and the hospital would be over. Duntsch recommended fusing Morguloff's L5-S1 vertebrae, and the surgery was scheduled for January 11, 2012. Duntsch pierced and blocked her vertebral artery with a misplaced screw and refused to stop despite the massive blood loss. However, it wasn't clear how much training Duntsch received. "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. 2-Dr.Randall Kirby, a hero. The case highlights the risks of allowing a troubled physician to move to another hospital . [18] He damaged patient Philip Mayfield's spinal cord, drilling into it and leaving him partially paralyzed from the neck down. Where is Christopher Duntsch AKA Dr. Death now? Efurd eventually gained back some control and mobility, but she now uses a wheelchair and suffers chronic pain. This time on 53-year-old Mary Efurd. [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. Summers asked Duntsch to fix his chronic neck pain from a high school football injury that had gotten worse after a car accident. However, things soon went south. Three holes had been poked into Efurd's spinal column where Duntsch had tried and failed to insert screws. [36] On February 20, 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison. Dr. Death in surgery. Dr. Robert Henderson was brought in on July 28, 2012, to perform a revision surgery on Efurd. 5 of Dallas County (opinion)", "Texas Court of Appeals Affirms Conviction of 'Dr. [7], While in Memphis, Duntsch began a long-term relationship with Wendy Renee Young. She bled to death . They met with an assistant DA but got little traction. 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. In 2014, he developed syringomyelia, a painful condition that causes fluid-filled cysts on the spinal cord. Philip is one of more than 30 people maimed by Dr. Christopher Duntsch, nicknamed Dr. Death by the media. 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. Immediately, he started yelling and cussing at me, saying, 'How dare you? WFAA-TVChristopher Duntsch a.k.a. '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. Duntsch is the first physician sentenced to life in prison for his actions while practicing medicine. Baylor officials took Summers' accusation seriously and ordered Duntsch to take a drug test. She witnessed Duntsch put on his lab coat and make his rounds the following morning as if nothing had happened. 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 . The series is set to premiere on July 12 and will feature a star-studded cast. 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. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana and spent most of his youth in Memphis, Tennessee. 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. However, red flags surfaced early on, as nurses wondered if Duntsch was under the influence of drugs while on duty. Muse spiraled into opioid addiction that cost him his wife and his job. [6], Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana and spent most of his youth in Memphis, Tennessee. He said even a person with the most basic sense of human anatomy would know they were operating in the wrong area. Duntsch received his undergraduate degree from the University of Memphis and stayed in town to receive an M.D. [36][11][9] For the same reason, prosecutors opted to try Duntsch for Efurd's maiming first. He was a forty-five-year-old man with typical back problems. The series follows two other surgeons, along with . 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. However, St. Jude says there was no such program at the hospital. They argued that Duntsch was motivated to continue operating because the salary of a neurosurgeon would solve his vast financial issues. [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. 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. Over objections from Duntsch's lawyers, prosecutors called many of Duntsch's other patients to the stand to prove that his actions were intentional. [9] Texas Medical Board Revocation Order. Why do Slipknot wear masks and what do they look like without? Lee Passmore was thirty-seven and worked as a field agent for the Collin County medical examiner. Before he was "Dr. Death" on Wondery's hit 2018 podcast, disgraced former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch was a student at Colorado State University. The hospital called Rimlawi when it couldn't reach his colleague. Morguloff had become addicted to the pain killers being prescribed to him by this time. 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. 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. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. He also reported shooting pains throughout his body. He recommended fusing two of her vertebrae and the insertion of "hardware" in her spinal area. He claimed he was the best in Dallas. [7][28][16], Kirby wrote a detailed complaint to the Texas Medical Board, calling Duntsch a "sociopath" who was "a clear and present danger to the citizens of Texas. The board called in veteran neurosurgeon Martin Lazar to review the case. The charismatic neurosurgeon was actually a successful researcher before he starting killing people in the operating . He was then brought on board at the Dallas Medical Center where he continued his carnage. As a young neurosurgeon in Texas, Duntsch killed . Duntsch had also installed hardware into her muscle, not her bone, so loose that it moved when you touched it. For 33 patients of Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, it was a reality. Troy was sedated for weeks and forced to eat through a feeding tube because food was getting into her lungs. 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. But, she never reported Duntsch up the ladder or told anyone about the horrors she witnessed in the operating room. Duntsch had removed part of his femoral nerve. Promising Beginnings. Just one day after his suspension had ended, Duntsch operated on Kellie Martin. It stars Joshua Jackson as Duntsch, Alec Baldwin as Robert Henderson, Christian Slater as Randall Kirby and AnnaSophia Robb as Michelle Shughart. [38][39] On December 10, 2018, the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed Duntsch's conviction by a 21 split decision. Death'? 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. 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. 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. So as Duntsch operated on Efurd, he quarreled with Kissinger and his supervisors, insisting on a craniotomy for Brown. 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.. Christopher Daniel Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971, and raised alongside his three siblings in an affluent suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. [7], When Duntsch applied for privileges at Methodist Hospital in Dallas, the hospital queried the NPDB. Jerry Summers believed that his best friend Christopher Duntsch was a talented neurosurgeon who would cure his chronic neck pain. 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. Chahadeh was worried about his facility and getting sued by Duntsch; he said to Dr. Kirby that they had already given him privileges. He was brilliant. Finally, Dr. Kirby received a call from Hassan Chahadeh. In 2006, Duntsch teamed up with two Russian stem cell scientists: Valery Kukekov and Tatyana Ignatova. 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. Dr. Mark Hoyle, a surgeon who worked with Duntsch during one of his botched procedures, told D Magazine that he would make extremely arrogant announcements such as: Everybody is doing it wrong. He was left with pain so debilitating he could not work any longer and now spends most of his days at home. "[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. The Judge overseeing this case is GINSBERG, CARL. No one came out and spoke with Kellie Martin's family or informed them of her condition during this time. 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. 11:15 PM on Mar 1, 2014 CST. "It's on the butt cheek of his scrubs. Then, on December 6, 2011, he operated on seventy-four-year-old Mary Efurd. He hoped to play football, but his multiple transfers revoked his eligibility. The television series Dr. Death based on the incident, began streaming on Peacock in July 2021. Dr. Death is based on the podcast of the same name, produced by Wondery. There are many sick people in the world, but Duntsch takes the cake for me. To top it all off, he was operating on the wrong portion of her back. 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. 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. The Dallas district attorney's office subpoenaed every hospital on Duntsch's CV for records of his surgeries. Dr. Death in surgery. Trusty would later find out there was no award and it had just been a paid advertisement. [42] The four hospitals that employed Duntsch have ongoing civil cases against him. [38] Shughart countered that the 2011 email, sent after his first surgeries went wrong, proved that Duntsch knew his actions were intentional. [26][4], After leaving Dallas Medical Center, Duntsch received privileges at South Hampton Community Hospital in Dallas and also took a job at an outpatient clinic named Legacy Surgery Center (now Frisco Ambulatory Surgery Center) in Frisco. An anesthesiologist and Dr. Anson Fulton, who assisted with the surgery, warned Duntsch about the blood loss, and he continued to ignore them and operate. [4][5] In 2017, he was convicted of maiming one of his patients and sentenced to life imprisonment. The night before his surgery, he read online about Kellie Martin's death just months earlier. There are a lot of explanations proposed for why the real-life subject of Peacock's "Dr. Death" limited series, neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duntsch (played by Joshua Jackson), maimed and . The first screening came back diluted with tap water, but a second, taken a few days later, came back clean. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. Christopher was raised along with his three younger siblings in a wealthy suburb in Memphis, Tennessee. However, by the time he met Young, Duntsch was over $500,000 in debt. B. Ellis Unit outside Huntsville. He had complex regional pain syndrome, a rare type of chronic pain that caused his skin to blister and peel off. Summers had a credit card in his name connected to Duntsch's account and would drive him around, balance his checkbooks, and pick up his dry cleaning. He decided to turn to neurosurgery, which can be a lucrative field. [12], Initially, Duntsch focused heavily on the PhD half of his degree. Duntsch arrived at the hospital about 45 minutes after Efurd's surgery had been scheduled. Duntsch moved into a five-bedroom house not far from the hospital. When he woke up, he was a quadriplegic with incomplete paralysis. 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. However, he closed Glidewell with the sponge in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. She bled so much that blood was saturating the blue draping around her body and dripping onto the floor. Jodi Smith. It told the unfortunately true story of Doctor Christopher Duntsch, who was eventually sentenced to life in prison for maiming an elderly patient. Death. Unfortunately, when Morguloff woke up, he began to experience continuous pain, paresthesia, and loss of sensation in his left leg. Dr. Frederick Boop, chief of neurosurgery at the hospital where Duntsch was completing his residency, said that university officials asked Duntsch to take a drug test. He will be up for parole in 2045, when he is 74 years old. Dr. Rimlawi called Baylor Plano and advised them against continuing a relationship with Christopher Duntsch, but this fell to deaf ears. Caroline is a writer and Florida-transplant currently living in New York City. He will not be eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74-years-old. 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. [15], Duntsch joined Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano (now Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Plano) as a minimally invasive spine surgeon with a salary of $600,000 per year, plus bonuses. Prosecutors also faulted Duntsch's employers for not reporting him. During his tenure at Baylor Plano, Kimberly Morgan assisted in every surgery with Duntsch. [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. Duntsch stuffed a surgical sponge in Glidewell's throat to stanch the bleeding. Dr. Fulton never worked with Duntsch again. Left: WFAA-TV, Right: D MagazineLeft: Christopher Duntsch in surgery, Right: Christopher Duntschs mugshot.
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