I can't believe that you're accusing me of killing someone,'" Muse recounted. However, he closed Glidewell with the sponge in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. Victim of Real-Life 'Dr. Death' Believes There Are Others - Yahoo! 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]. 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. Christopher Daniel Duntsch (born April 3, 1971)[1] is a former American neurosurgeon who has been nicknamed Dr. D. and Dr. Death[2] for gross malpractice resulting in the maiming of several patients' spines and two deaths while working at hospitals in the DallasFort Worth metroplex. 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. In April 2015, Duntsch was arrested again for shoplifting $887 worth of merchandise from a Dallas Walmart. 'Dr. Death' Surgeon Killed or Maimed 33 of His Patients - Peoplemag Dr. Rimlawi called Baylor Plano and advised them against continuing a relationship with Christopher Duntsch, but this fell to deaf ears. But based on documents gathered by the DA, when Duntsch finished his residency, he had operated fewer than 100 times. Next week marks the five-year anniversary of Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch being sentenced to life in prison. 'Dr. Death' Peacock Review: Stream It Or Skip It? - Decider The process involves cutting a hole in the skull to relieve the pressure in the brain. He hoped to play football, but his multiple transfers revoked his eligibility. [9][24][19][7] After several days, Kirby was brought in to repair the damage and later described what he found after opening Glidewell back up as the work of a "crazed maniac". Having exhausted his football eligibility, Duntsch decided to switch to a career in medicine. Duntsch moved to Denver, Colorado, and went into a downward spiral. [4], After 13 days of trial, the jury needed only four hours to convict him for the maiming of Efurd. Dr. Death in surgery. Yet, in April 2012, he returned to work just four months after surgery. She also said they snorted cocaine from a small pile he kept on a dresser in his home office. The series follows two other surgeons, along with . A Texas neurosurgeon accused of intentionally botching multiple spinal surgeries, resulting in the death of two . It was determined during the repair surgery that Dr. Duntsch had not even been operating on the correct part of Jeff Glidewell's spine. He will not be eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74-years-old. On November 7, 2011, Dr. Duntsch was scheduled to perform his first surgery at Baylor Plano on Kenneth Fennell for his back pain. "As his victims pile up, two fellow physicians and Dallas prosecutor Michelle Shughart set out to stop him.". The Judge overseeing this case is GINSBERG, CARL. Typically, neurosurgery residents participate in over 1,000 surgeries in the course of their residency. Duntsch continued operating despite clear signs that Martin was losing massive amounts of blood. Duntsch is a former Dallas neurosurgeon who, through . The explanation was enough to satisfy Muse. Dr. Duntsch assured Muse that the pain was normal and prescribed him, strong pain killers, causing him to spiral into an addiction. Chris Dozois, a fellow linebacker with the Rams, recalled Duntsch struggling, even with basic drills, but begging to run them over and over until he got it right. He realized he'd seen that hole for three straight days Duntsch hadn't changed his scrubs all week. As a result of the 2017 trial, Duntsch was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. 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. [7], While in Memphis, Duntsch began a long-term relationship with Wendy Renee Young. How could Dr. Christopher Duntsch practice medicine for as long as he did without being stopped? In 2011, Christopher Duntsch met Wendy Young at the Beauty Shop bar in Memphis. 3-Jeff Glidewell, another victim of Duntsch's. 4-Michelle Shugart, the woman who brought this all to fruition . Around 2006 and 2007, Duntsch began to become unhinged. He is very caring and took the time to help me understand my pain issues. 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. Advertisement. 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. The first screening came back diluted with tap water, but a second, taken a few days later, came back clean. Moving made sense for both of them. A deranged surgeon runs amok, maiming and killing multiple patients, unhindered by a medical community sworn to police itself. [16] In 2021, he was profiled on CNBC's American Greed. However, the surgery had to be moved to November 14 because Duntsch had failed to order the appropriate surgical hardware and equipment. Jeff Cheney later learned that part of his spinal cord had been cut during the operation. Listen to Dr. Death | S1: Dr. Duntsch on TuneIn "[45], Wondery Media launched a ten-episode podcast series named Dr. Death, focusing on Duntsch. The case status is Disposed - Other Disposed. Kim Morgan Now: Where is Nurse and Christopher Duntsch's Ex-Assisstant Prosecutors also faulted Duntsch's employers for not reporting him. He didn't contact a lawyer, although he struggled with the decision. [4] [19], Despite both of his surgeries at Dallas Medical Center going catastrophically awry, hospital officials did not report him to the NPDB. Despite his colleagues being [] Lazar was scathingly critical of Duntsch's work. She was moved to the ICU and died due to blood loss. The patient was Mary Efurd coming in for a second operation. MARY EFURD vs CHRISTOPHER D DUNTSCH, MDet al - UniCourt Out of his 38 surgeries, only three had no complications. Joshua Jackson on Not Playing Dr. Death as an Evil Man She bled so much that blood was saturating the blue draping around her body and dripping onto the floor. At the time of their meeting, Young was working as a dancer in a strip club. As a young neurosurgeon in Texas, Duntsch killed . Board chairman Irwin Zeitzler later said that complications in neurosurgery were more common than most think. Christopher Duntsch, the onetime Dallas neurosurgeon whose butcher-like techniques killed two patients and permanently injured more, feels made to exist at the center of a work of fiction; perhaps, [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]. In my opinion, we had a serial killer in our medical community, Dr. Randall Kirbysays of Christopher Duntsch in "Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story.". When Morgan asked Duntsch about the woman in his house, he said she was just his secretary and friend. Neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch was nicknamed Dr Death: Evil Lives 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. Henderson then cleaned out bone fragments and discovered that one of Efurd's nerve roots was gone entirely. It was then that Christopher decided to switch his career to medicine. By the end of the week, administrators told Duntsch he would no longer be operating at Dallas Medical Center. The pressure was building inside her brain. Morgan says they spent a lot of time in clubs. Officers said he was driving on the left side of the road with two flat tires. His CV also conveyed he earned a Ph.D. in microbiology from St. Jude Children's Research Hospitals, graduating summa cum laude. Passmore says if he settles, he is allowing the hospital to continue to get away with their negligence. 'Dr. Death': Who Is Kim Morgan, and What Happened to Her? 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. [9][10], Duntsch had severed Brown's vertebral artery, and refused to abort despite the massive blood loss. He knew this couldn't have been a one-time mistake. Troy was sedated for weeks and forced to eat through a feeding tube because food was getting into her lungs. To become a neurosurgeon, one typically has to complete over 1000 surgeries in residency, but somehow, reporter Laura Beil discovered that Duntsch only completed 100. It involves the case of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a spinal neurosurgeon who left a trail of dead and permanently disabled . 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." Duntsch stuffed Glidewell's throat with a surgical sponge to attempt to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, when Fennell woke up from surgery, he was paralyzed from the waist down. He is not eligible for parole until 2045; he will be 74 years old by then. 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. During a deposition, Megan Krane recalled Duntsch eating a paper blotter of LSD and taking prescription painkillers on his birthday. Wendy Renee Young and Christopher Duntsch first met in 2011 at a Beauty Shop bar in Memphis. They met with an assistant DA but got little traction. The series is set to premiere on July 12 and will feature a star-studded cast. Randall 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." This is the True Story of 'Dr Death' Christopher Duntsch 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. Death' found guilty of maiming woman during surgery", "Former neurosurgeon sentenced for purposely maiming patients", "Doctor convicted of botched surgery gets life in prison", "Christopher Daniel Duntsch v. The State of Texas Appeal from Criminal District Court No. Muse spiraled into opioid addiction that cost him his wife and his job. Assistant district attorney Michelle Shughart, who led the prosecution of Duntsch, later recalled that Henderson and Kirby reached out to her demanding to testify against Duntsch; according to Shughart, doctors rarely testify against each other. Death. ", "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? During this time, he ran two successful labs and raised millions of dollars in grant funding. As a result, Summers lost almost 1,200 mL of blood. No one came out and spoke with Kellie Martin's family or informed them of her condition during this time. Dhruv Trivedi. During surgery, Duntsch operated on the wrong part of Fennell's back. B. Ellis Unit outside Huntsville. Jerry Summers, who grew up with Christopher Duntsch in Tennessee, was left a quadriplegic after agreeing to let "Dr. Death" operate on his neck. It was Duntsch, babbling about his family being in danger. Lee Passmore is still fighting. Jeff Glidewell came across Dr. Christopher Duntsch in 2013 while searching for a neurosurgeon . 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. Facebook Wendy Renee Young and Christopher Duntsch. Baylor officials took Summers' accusation seriously and ordered Duntsch to take a drug test. He earned his M.D. He decided to turn to neurosurgery, which can be a lucrative field. [42] The four hospitals that employed Duntsch have ongoing civil cases against him. Duntsch is a former neurosurgeon born in 1971 in Montana . She also said that he kept a pile of cocaine on his dresser in his home office. There were two names on the top page: Kellie Martin and Christopher Duntsch. Christopher Duntsch | True Crime Buzz | Oxygen Official Site [10][7], Duntsch completed his residency having participated in fewer than 100 surgeries. He wanted to become a doctor, and not just any doctor - a neurosurgeon, operating on injured backs and necks. Watch the trailer for Dr . In February 2012, he went under the knife for an elective spinal fusion surgery. Why Did Dr. Death Do It? 'Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story' Explains Duntsch was suspected of having used cocaine the night before the operation. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971. 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. How the 'Dr. Death' TV show takes 'a deeper dive' than the popular podcast Christopher Duntsch: The Remorseless Killer Surgeon Called 'Dr. Death' It stars Joshua Jackson as Duntsch, Alec Baldwin as Robert Henderson, Christian Slater as Randall Kirby and AnnaSophia Robb as Michelle Shughart. At the time, Duntsch was looking for operating prospects in Dallas, San Diego, and New York. His mother, Susan, was a school teacher. According to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, a neurosurgery resident does about 1,000 operations during training. 5 of Dallas County (opinion)", "Texas Court of Appeals Affirms Conviction of 'Dr. There are many sick people in the world, but Duntsch takes the cake for me. Young said that Morgan visited often. However, it wouldnt be long until Duntschs seemingly perfect career began to unravel. Ellis Unit prison in Huntsville, Texas. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971. For 33 patients of Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, it was a reality. He is a graduate of Evangelical Christian School in the Cordova suburb of Memphis, where he starred in football.[7]. Jodi Smith. Duntsch initially attended Millsaps College to play Division III college football, and later transferred to Division I Colorado State University. [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. He was brilliant. After interviewing dozens of Duntsch's patients and their survivors, prosecutors concluded that Duntsch's acts were indeed criminal, and nothing short of imprisonment would prevent him from practicing medicine again. [38] Shughart countered that the 2011 email, sent after his first surgeries went wrong, proved that Duntsch knew his actions were intentional. However, Mayfield still woke up with paralysis on occasion. Robert Lowes. He was a genius. Then check out the horrifying story of Simon Bramhall, a surgeon who admitted to burning his initials into patients livers. However, it wasn't clear how much training Duntsch received. Page opened a desk drawer and saw a mirror with a pile of cocaine and a rolled-up dollar bill on top. [8] Duntsch returned home to attend Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis). By this time, Duntsch was almost penniless, and the judge had to appoint a lawyer for him. Philip is one of more than 30 people maimed by Dr. Christopher Duntsch, nicknamed Dr. Death by the media. Dr. Death: Disgraced surgeon at center of podcast, show has CSU roots However, Baylor did not fire him; instead, he was allowed to resign. 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. However, he sewed up Glidewell with the sponge still in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. [30], Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move elsewhere and still theoretically get a medical license. He was smart. [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. Christopher Duntsch ended up at Millsaps College in Mississippi to play football and was offered financial aid. The Legislature has also made suing hospitals difficult. Many of his patients suffered severe spinal cord damage, resulting in paralysis and pain severe enough to render painkillers ineffective. Christopher Duntsch is currently imprisoned at the O.B. The True Story Of Christopher Duntsch, The Killer Surgeon Known As Dr. Passmore had a herniated disc in his lower spine pressing on a nerve causing him pain. He was wearing the shirt of his black scrubs, and it was covered in blood. [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. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Duntsch, https://www.propublica.org/article/dr-death-christopher-duntsch-a-surgeon-so-bad-it-was-criminal, https://www.dmagazine.com/healthcare-business/2021/10/a-witness-to-dr-death-in-the-presence-of-a-sociopath/, https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2016/november/christopher-duntsch-dr-death/, https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/who-were-the-victims-of-dr-christopher-duntsch, https://www.dallasnews.com/news/investigations/2014/03/02/planos-baylor-hospital-faces-hard-questions-after-claims-against-former-neurosurgeon/, https://www.texasobserver.org/anatomy-tragedy/, https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2015/08/25/7-chilling-thoughts-of-jailed-neurosurgeon-christopher-duntsch/, https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/greg-abbott-enters-fray-in-lawsuits-involving-sociopath-doctor/, https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2017/02/a-jury-now-controls-the-fate-of-neurosurgeon-christopher-duntsch/, https://www.thedailybeast.com/victim-of-real-life-dr-death-believes-there-are-others-like-him-out-there?ref=scroll, https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/what-happened-to-discgenics-co-founded-by-dr-death-christopher-duntsch, https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Morguloff-Complaint.pdf. A few days later, he took the test and passed. Efurd was left paralyzed. The appalling actions of the rogue surgeon and their repercussions on his unsuspecting patients were . Premiering Thursday on . Licensed to kill: lawsuit seeks to overturn Texas hospital shield law In 2017, Duntsch was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of maiming one of his patients. Christopher was raised along with his three younger siblings in a wealthy suburb in Memphis, Tennessee. During his short tenure, he spent little time in the operating room. Is Christopher Duntsch In Jail? Arrest And Charges Details On April 9, 2013, Phillip Mayfield was scheduled to have a simple 45-minute operation to alleviate his back pain. An investigator by trade and nature, Passmore started digging into Dr. Christopher Duntsch. Duntsch's defense blamed their client's actions on poor training and lack of hospital oversight. Podcast de Dr Death: La verdadera historia de Christopher Duntsch que The case highlights the risks of allowing a troubled physician to move to another hospital . 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. Your trust is important to us. By this time, Jerry Summers, his childhood friend, had moved from Tennessee to live with Duntsch. 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. Plans start at $4.99/month. 2-Dr.Randall Kirby, a hero. Brown was left in a coma for hours before Duntsch finally acquiesced to her transfer. Joshua Jackson Is Game, but 'Dr. Death' Lacks Insight: TV - Variety And its all because of one surgeon named Christopher Duntsch a.k.a. [31][16] The inquiry went nowhere until 2015, when the statute of limitations on any potential charges was due to run out. Here's All That Has Happened to the Real Christopher Duntsch A - Yahoo! "Something was wrong," Dr. Rimlawi said, "whether it be impairment from drugs, alcohol, mental illness, or a combination of all three." But police say an email Duntsch wrote in 2011 points to his mind-set in the months before he "intentionally, knowingly and . He died in 2021 of an infection related to complications from Duntsch's operation. Duntsch earned his undergraduate degree in 1995 and enrolled at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. among the top 12 percent of medical school graduates in his class named to the elite Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. Three holes had been poked into Efurd's spinal column where Duntsch had tried and failed to insert screws. Prosecutors also faulted Duntsch's employers for not reporting him. Under heavy lobbying from Kirby and Henderson, the Texas Medical Board suspended Duntsch's license on June 26, 2013. Duntsch is at the O. Texas Doctor Found Guilty of Felony in Medical Malpractice Case The day that Brown suffered her stroke, Duntsch operated again. Christopher Duntsch Texas True Crime Blog It was. [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. Ghostbar, Dragonfly at Hotel Zaza. He was left with pain so debilitating he could not work any longer and now spends most of his days at home. Christopher Daniel Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971, and raised alongside his three siblings in an affluent suburb of . After the operation, Brown woke up and seemed fine, but early the following day; she lost consciousness. 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. 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. 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. However, Duntsch was allowed to resign, and the hospital didn't notify the National Practitioner Data Bankagain. Lee Passmore was thirty-seven and worked as a field agent for the Collin County medical examiner. Prosecutors sought a sentence long enough to ensure that Duntsch would never be able to practice medicine again. She said she thought that he was going to make millions, Kimberly Morgan's friend once said her attraction to Christopher Duntsch. He might have been fired from the Institute but was still a surgeon at Baylor Plano. No one can pay to remove ratings. "[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. From 2017: https://bit.ly/3hXJccx Dr. Hassan Chahadeh, the owner, said when Duntsch had applied for privileges, his record was clean. ", "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.