One of the early investors in DiscGenics, Rand Page, said Duntsch would be mixing a vodka orange juice during their morning meetings. He was wearing the shirt of his black scrubs, and it was covered in blood. Every victim deserves to have their story told, and unfortunately, Christopher Duntsch, aka Dr. Death, has 33. Just one day after his suspension had ended, Duntsch operated on Kellie Martin. Glidewell is still in constant pain and has undergone more than 50 procedures to correct the damage left by Duntsch. [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. ", "Plano's Baylor hospital faces hard questions after claims against former neurosurgeon", "Barry Morguloff's suit against the Baylor Health Care System", "Was Wendy Renee Young Dr. Death's Wife? For the last three days, jurors listened to testimony in the . When Kirby learned the details, he immediately asked the doctor who referred the case to him about the surgeon: "Is it a guy named Christopher Duntsch?" [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. She also said they snorted cocaine from a small pile he kept on a dresser in his home office. As a result, Summers lost almost 1,200 mL of blood. Henderson sent Duntsch's picture to the University of Tennessee to determine whether he had a degree from that institution and received confirmation that Duntsch was not a fraud. The lead investigator on the case later revealed that she wanted Duntsch's license suspended while the ten-month probe was underway, but board attorneys were not willing to go along. The day that Brown suffered her stroke, Duntsch operated again. MISI representatives stated he would brag about his capabilities and be critical of the work of other surgeons. The day after Mary Efurd's surgery, she awoke in excruciating pain and could not turn over or wiggle her toes. His pain management specialist advised against an operation but referred him to a neurosurgeon named Christopher Duntsch. When he called Duntsch's office, he was told it would "go away." Dhruv Trivedi. While there, he damaged patient Jeff Cheney's spinal cord, leaving him without feeling on the right side of his body. DiscGenics says its mission is toimprove the lives of those suffering from the debilitating effects of degenerative diseases of the spine. 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. When Henderson saw the imaging from Duntsch's surgery, he was certain that there would be legal action, and had the salvage surgery recorded. Over the course of 18-months, the nefarious ex-surgeon performed a spree of botched . He was a genius. [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. At one point, he was only able to eat small bites of food at one time. However, he ignored them and proceeded with his scheduled surgery on Efurd. Christopher Duntsch Early Life Story, Family Background and Education. This was the time when Dr. Christopher Duntsch started to turn into Dr. Death. One day, he happened to see a fax come in to the medical examiner's office. Dr. Duntsch came from a good family and showed considerable potential at medical school. He added that many board members found it hard to believe that a trained surgeon could be as incompetent as Duntsch appeared to be.[9]. [7], While in Memphis, Duntsch began a long-term relationship with Wendy Renee Young. And its all because of one surgeon named Christopher Duntsch a.k.a. In September 2012, Jeff Cheney went to Duntsch to relieve the pain that had moved from his shoulder down to his arm. He decided to turn to neurosurgery, which can be a lucrative field. Lee Passmore is still fighting. Christopher Duntsch - AKA Dr. Death - spent 18 months as a practicing surgeon at multiple Texas hospitals until he had his license revoked in 2013. 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. After a fall in her kitchen, Martin experienced chronic back pain and sought out surgery to alleviate it. No one can pay to remove ratings. Thankfully, this ended up being Dr. Christopher Duntsch's last operation. [4][5] In 2017, he was convicted of maiming one of his patients and sentenced to life imprisonment. He will not be eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74-years-old. is a beautiful and populous city located in Montana U.S. . His father, Donald, was a physical therapist and Christian missionary, and his mother, Susan, was a schoolteacher. Baylor suspended Duntsch, pictured, for a month. Duntsch pierced and blocked her vertebral artery with a misplaced screw and refused to stop despite the massive blood loss. July 19, 2021. and Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee Health Center. Premiering Thursday on . Left: Christopher Duntsch in surgery, Right: Christopher Duntschs mugshot. Many readers may recognize the name Christopher Duntsch, a doctor who allegedly was negligent in his practice for years before finally being stripped of his medical license. However, St. Jude says there was no such program at the hospital. Baylor wanted Duntsch operating quickly and often so they could be reimbursed for the monies they had advanced to him. Several people who were in the operating room for Efurd's surgery suspected that Duntsch might have been intoxicated, recalling that his pupils were dilated. [8] Duntsch returned home to attend Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis). Their fling was confined to his office at Baylor Plano, and Morgan said in her deposition that he frequently drank vodka and did medical research for hours. Duntsch was fired after he performed a surgery and immediately left for Las Vegas, leaving no one to look after his patient. After this look at Christopher Duntsch a.k.a. 0:05. The sponge triggered a severe blood-borne infection that caused Glidewell to become septic. 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. They argued that Duntsch was motivated to continue operating because the lucrative salary of a neurosurgeon would solve his mounting financial problems. Christopher Duntsch, known as "Dr. Death" tried to explain himself in rambling emails, but he only made things worse for his criminal case. Dr. Death, read about how reckless surgeon Robert Liston killed his patient and two bystanders. He is not eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74 years old. However, things soon went south. A disc in his lower spine had blown out, and the pieces had to be picked out of the space above. Dr. Duntsch said to Cheney, "I don't know why you're this way. Unfortunately, it's all too real. This case was filed in Dallas County District Courts, Dallas County Civil District Courts located in Dallas, Texas. When he arrived, Nurse Kyle Kissinger spotted a hole in Duntsch's scrubs. Legacy Surgery Center in Frisco (now Frisco Ambulatory Surgery Center). [9] Duntsch completed his undergraduate degree in 1995, then continued on to an ambitious MDPhD program. He said even a person with the most basic sense of human anatomy would know they were operating in the wrong area. Summers remained quadriplegic for the rest of his life. Typically, neurosurgery residents participate in over 1,000 surgeries in the course of their residency. But, she never reported Duntsch up the ladder or told anyone about the horrors she witnessed in the operating room. Dr. Death in surgery. The series peers into the torturous crimes of . On April 9, 2013, Phillip Mayfield was scheduled to have a simple 45-minute operation to alleviate his back pain. For instance, he came to work wearing the same tattered scrubs for three days in a row. 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 . 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. "[20][4] Under heavy lobbying from Kirby and Henderson, the Texas Medical Board suspended Duntsch's license on June 26, 2013. [38], Duntsch is housed at the O. Dr. Hassan Chahadeh, the owner, said when Duntsch had applied for privileges, his record was clean. 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. He recommended fusing two of her vertebrae and the insertion of "hardware" in her spinal area. The hospital initiated another peer review, but Duntsch resigned rather than face certain termination. [40][41] On May 8, 2019, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused Duntschs petition for discretionary review. Duntsch stuffed Glidewell's throat with a surgical sponge to attempt to stop the bleeding. Former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch is one of the most infamous doctors ever brought to trial in a criminal case, and with good reason. [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. From 2011 to 2013, dozens of patients in the Dallas area woke up after their surgeries with horrible pain, numbness and, paralysis. 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. During this time, he ran two successful labs and raised millions of dollars in grant funding. Duntsch, 40 at that time, bought an appletini for Young, 27, and they started their relationship. In addition, a ligament in his leg was severed, and a screw was stripped and lodged into a nerve bundle. In 2014, he developed syringomyelia, a painful condition that causes fluid-filled cysts on the spinal cord. The two went back to Duntsch's home and danced under a disco ball he had in his office. There were two names on the top page: Kellie Martin and Christopher Duntsch. He wanted to become a doctor, and not just any doctor - a neurosurgeon, operating on injured backs and necks. Baylor Plano again ordered Duntsch to take a drug test. "[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. [31][16] The inquiry went nowhere until 2015, when the statute of limitations on any potential charges was due to run out. 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. It involves the case of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a spinal neurosurgeon who left a trail of dead and permanently disabled . 3-Jeff Glidewell, another victim of Duntsch's. 4-Michelle Shugart, the woman who brought this all to fruition . Duntsch is a former neurosurgeon born in 1971 in Montana . After his license was revoked,Duntsch fled from Texas. After a breath test, Duntsch was arrested for DUI and sent to a detox facility. Dallas-based surgeon Christopher Duntsch was also the subject of a Wondery podcast titled "Dr. Death." (Dallas County Jail) The indictment accused Duntsch of wide-ranging malpractice, including . [16] Kirby also recalled that Duntsch's skills in the operating room left much to be desired; as Kirby put it, "he could not wield a scalpel".[4]. The operation should have taken less than ninety minutes; it ultimately lasted four and a half hours. He was sent to a program for impaired physicians when he returned but was allowed to finish his residency. 0:57. 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. [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. But, he can only walk 30 feet at a time and cannot stand for more than a few minutes. 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. 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. 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. The surgical disasters of neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch led to his jailing in 2017, setting a legal precedent. Dr. Randall Kirby, a general and vascular surgeon, assisted with Morguloff. It told the unfortunately true story of Doctor Christopher Duntsch, who was eventually sentenced to life in prison for maiming an elderly patient. 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. 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. He then packed it with too much of a substance intended to stop the bleeding. He did his surgical residency at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, spending five years studying neurosurgery and a year studying general surgery. Ellis Unit outside of Huntsville, Texas. [19][25][7] She later recalled waking up feeling "excruciating pain", a "ten-plus" on a scale of 1 to 10. He was left with pain so debilitating he could not work any longer and now spends most of his days at home. By the end of the week, administrators told Duntsch he would no longer be operating at Dallas Medical Center. She was moved to the ICU and died due to blood loss. Wendy Renee Young and Christopher Duntsch first met in 2011 at a Beauty Shop bar in Memphis. Finally, Dr. Kirby received a call from Hassan Chahadeh. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. That's why it really shined down to me," Kissinger said in an interview. Prince Charming, Im gonna change your life, Wendy Young said of the promising start to her romance with Christopher Duntsch. But police say an email Duntsch wrote in 2011 points to his mind-set in the months before he "intentionally, knowingly and . Moving made sense for both of them. Board chairman Irwin Zeitzler later said that complications in neurosurgery were more common than most think. When Jerry Summers woke up, he couldn't move his arms or legs. [4], After 13 days of trial, the jury needed only four hours to convict him for the maiming of Efurd. "He said the patient died from having an allergic reaction to the anesthesia." [19] Prosecutors sought a sentence long enough to ensure that Duntsch would never be able to practice medicine again. In March, the following spring, police were called to a bank in Northeast Dallas after a man with blood on his hands and face was seen beating on the doors. Duntsch was suspected of having used cocaine the night before the operation. [4], Longtime spine surgeon Robert Henderson performed the salvage surgery on Efurd. Passmore met with Dr. Duntsch and was impressed by his confidence; he would fix him. 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. Duntsch lasted about three months at MISI. You'd like to think . Those words continue to haunt her, and she's tormented by the knowledge that her endorsement caused others to select Duntsch themselves. 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. By this time, Duntsch was almost penniless, and the judge had to appoint a lawyer for him. Duntsch focused on his research for a while but was recruited from Memphis to join the Minimally Invasive Spine Institute in North Dallas in the summer of 2011. Your trust is important to us. 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.. Duntsch, who had been listed as the founder, president & chief science officer, was being sued by the former chief operating officer and was dismissed from his roles and seat on the board. 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." During his surgery, Duntsch didnt installed the necessary hardware to Muses spine and instead had left it floating between the spine and muscle tissue. 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. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Having exhausted his football eligibility, Duntsch decided to switch to a career in medicine. Philip is one of more than 30 people maimed by Dr. Christopher Duntsch, nicknamed Dr. Death by the media. In 2005, about a third of the way through his residency, department chairman Dr. Jon Robertson appointed Duntsch program director of the school's tissue bank. Had Duntsch been fired, Baylor Plano would have been required to report him to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), which is intended to flag problematic physicians. Death', "Texas Jury Imposes Life Sentence on Neurosurgeon", "The Making and Breaking of Dr. "Christopher Duntsch" (Dr. Death)", "Season 14 of CNBC's 'American Greed' Premieres Monday, January 18 at 10PM", Dr. Death: The Texas Surgeon Who Paralyzed his Patients, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christopher_Duntsch&oldid=1139253982. He will not be eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74-years-old. 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. He later recalled that he read about Martin's death on the day before the surgery, but Duntsch cursed him out when he called to ask about it. Those are the words that Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a Dallas neurosurgeon, wrote to his girlfriend in 2011 in the midst of a two-year period that left 33 of his 38 patients maimed, wounded or . 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. She was transferred to a Dallas hospital after suffering from a severe infection, and Randal Kirby was asked to operate on her. i feel much better now ! An MRI revealed that multiple bone fragments in his spinal canal were compressing and adhering to his S1 nerve and that Duntsch had installed the hardware incorrectly. 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. Even if a plaintiff wins the maximum award, after you pay your lawyer and your experts and go through, potentially, years of trial, not much is left. [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. WFAA-TVChristopher Duntsch a.k.a. "[3] 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. Veteran vascular surgeon Randall Kirby recalled that Duntsch frequently boasted about his abilities despite being so new to the area. He was then brought on board at the Dallas Medical Center where he continued his carnage. DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch has been sentenced to life in prison for a series of botched spinal surgeries, reports CBS . He was smart. However, he sewed up Glidewell with the sponge still in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. [4] [19], Despite both of his surgeries at Dallas Medical Center going catastrophically awry, hospital officials did not report him to the NPDB. The staff told Duntsch that Brown, his patient from the day before, was in critical condition. Duntsch also removed so much bone and muscle tissue from Summers' neck that his head was no longer secure on his body. He might have been fired from the Institute but was still a surgeon at Baylor Plano. So as Duntsch operated on Efurd, he quarreled with Kissinger and his supervisors, insisting on a craniotomy for Brown. (Dallas County Jail via AP) Gift Article. Despite several warnings from his colleagues that he was not doing the surgery correctly and was attempting to put screws into muscle rather than bone, Duntsch persisted. Dr Deathis a new limited series about the rise and fall of Duntsch. Passmore says if he settles, he is allowing the hospital to continue to get away with their negligence. ", "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. 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. He performed only one surgery with the Minimally Invasive Spine Institute. Kirby was shocked; he called the owner of University General and warned him that Duntsch would hurt someone, and the hospital would be over. Despite his colleagues being [] However, it wouldnt be long until Duntschs seemingly perfect career began to unravel. ", "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. Duntsch also received forty percent of all revenue he generated beyond $800,000 each year. He is very caring and took the time to help me understand my pain issues. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. "If he wasn't doing research, he was out with Jerry Summers, partying," Morgan said in her deposition. However, he closed Glidewell with the sponge in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. Three holes had been poked into Efurd's spinal column where Duntsch had tried and failed to insert screws. In my opinion, we had a serial killer in our medical community, Dr. Randall Kirbysays of Christopher Duntsch in "Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story.". There are many sick people in the world, but Duntsch takes the cake for me. The explanation was enough to satisfy Muse. The first season of Dr. Death, which launched in 2018 and ran for seven episodes, examined the life and horrific crimes of Christopher Duntsch. 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. 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. [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. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971. Through it all, Duntsch was able to lure patient after patient under his knife was his extreme confidence. 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. Officers said he was driving on the left side of the road with two flat tires. Morgan didn't follow Duntsch after he left, however. Christopher was raised along with his three younger siblings in a wealthy suburb in Memphis, Tennessee. Jeff Cheney later learned that part of his spinal cord had been cut during the operation. [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. He refused to acknowledge anything was wrong, hindering the, This page was last edited on 14 February 2023, at 04:48. When Morgan asked Duntsch about the woman in his house, he said she was just his secretary and friend. ", You know in the beginning he talked about marriage. [42] The four hospitals that employed Duntsch have ongoing civil cases against him. He ran two labs, gained experience writing grants, and earned more than $3 million in funding for research projects. Wendy Renee Young was romantically involved with Texas physician Christopher Duntsch, who became known as "Dr . He avoided it and disappeared for several days. [3], Duntsch was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 patients in less than two years before his license was revoked by the Texas Medical Board. Kirby warned him again that it was only a matter of time. The problem was that Dallas Medical Center did not perform those or even have the proper equipment to do them. 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. Pic credit: Dallas County Sheriff's Office. 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. In 2006, Duntsch teamed up with two Russian stem cell scientists: Valery Kukekov and Tatyana Ignatova. [7] While operating on Jacqueline Troy, Duntsch cut one of her vocal cords and an artery and also damaged her trachea. [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. Henderson then cleaned out bone fragments and discovered that one of Efurd's nerve roots was gone entirely. Unfortunately, when Fennell woke up from surgery, he was paralyzed from the waist down. He then prescribed Muse so much Percocet that a pharmacist refused to fill the prescription. The Peacock originalDr Deathis based on atrue story. Dr. Fulton never worked with Duntsch again. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The surgery was supposed to take less than 45 minutes and ultimately lasted over four hours. Once, he stopped by to pick up some paperwork.