[14] He persuaded Young to come with him; Young agreed, since she had grown up in the Dallas area. Dr Duntsch participated in fewer than 100 surgeries during his residency, which is significantly less than the number of surgeries typically performed by neurosurgery residents. The Right Way to Mix Acids and Water: Always Add Acid to Water! The very first complaint should have triggered an investigation. There are 31 people left alive today, irreparably damaged by Dr. Death's grievous malpractices. He'dassisted Dunstch in the operating room before and called his skills pathetic.". [38][39] On December 10, 2018, the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed Duntsch's conviction by a 21 split decision. Christopher Duntsch was just a regular guy who became Dr. Death after he decided to be a neurosurgeon. Duntsch, on the other hand, recorded fake testimonials to open his own practice and hopped from hospital to hospital to keep trying to practice medicine as a neurosurgeon. During his residency program for neurosurgery, he completed fewer than 100 surgeries despite the expected 1,000 operations for a typical resident. Feb. 7, 2017. Passmore says the space above a disc in his lower spine had been blown out in the first surgery, and Duntsch returned to . I received word today that Jerry Summers has passed away. He took out so much of his spinal cord that he couldnt keep his head up. Duntsch had completed a combined MD/PhD program and neurosurgical residency at The University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, finished a prestigious spinalsurgery fellowship in the city, and even had patents and academic papers in his name. [7], While in Memphis, Duntsch began a long-term relationship with Wendy Renee Young. [4], After 13 days of trial, the jury needed only four hours to convict him for the maiming of Efurd. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER, FIRST TAKE, How Dr Death Star Joshua Jackson Learned to Perform Spectacularly Bad Surgery, Why Dr Death Showrunner Used Dual Timelines to Unravel Duntschs Occams Razor Email. Prior to his criminal charges, he was running research labs and was considered to be an up-and-coming neurosurgeon. She was deposed over Skype since, at the time, she was stationed with the Air Force in the Middle East. [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. Between 2010, when he began his surgery practice, and 2013, Duntsch, then in his early forties, performed many operations that resulted in severe injury or death. After moving to Dallas, Texas in 2011 to practice medicine, reports started coming in about patients whose surgeries were botched by Duntsch resulting in severe injuries or even death. Then, we were reminded once again of the deadly doctor's acts in the Peacock miniseries, Dr. Death, starring Joshua Jackson as the title character. In it,was a mirror with cocaine and a rolled-up dollar bill on top. Duntsch then joined Dallas Medical Center. According to ProPublica, Boop was aware of a complaint Duntsch used drugs before seeing patients. Dr. Duntsch is at number one. B. Ellis Unit outside Huntsville. Jodi Smith. 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. Duntsch arrived in Texas with no shortage of confidence, often boasting to his colleagues that he would be the greatest minimally invasive spinalsurgeon in Dallas. The hospital saved face and avoided any lawsuits. With such goings-on, Duntsch got himself kicked out of his own company. According to the Texas Observer, one of Duntsch's first botched surgeries took place in January 2012 and led to bone fragments from the patient's vertebrae getting lodged in the nerves of his back. My take on it is, for him, it was hubris, Jackson mused. Christopher Duntsch, also known as Dr. Not long after he arrived at the job, Duntsch operated on his childhood best friend Jerry Summers. We are here to help you make your home a better place by providing you with the latest information and trends from around the world. But as the ultimate betrayal, some doctors violate this code of conduct in the worst possible ways. Out of his 38 surgeries, only three had no complications. But even that database is limited. Did these doctors truly not see though Duntsch? Her response echoed what she shared on the podcast. His negligence resulted in two patients becoming paralyzed, leaving them unable to move any part of their body below the injury site due to a loss of sensation and motor control. Van Wey also told American Greed that in the state of Texas, hospitals face greater risks of receiving a lawsuit from someone unfairly reported to the physicians data bank than they do from a patient themselves, making officials leerier of reporting claims. Because of a valuable patent the company owned, they let him through the gates and out into the world. [18] He damaged patient Philip Mayfield's spinal cord, drilling into it and leaving him partially paralyzed from the neck down. I'm the only clean minimally invasive guy in the whole state." Ellis Unit outside of Huntsville, Texas. I can tell you that, with the intention of allowing audiences to come to their own conclusions, my conclusion is that Christopher is an extraordinarily complex and tragic figure. Christopher Duntsch was just a regular guy who became Dr. Death after he decided to be a neurosurgeon. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Yet, instead of saving lives and using his knowledge for good, the opposite happened. And not just any doctor a neurosurgeon, operating on injured backs and necks. Slater plays Dr. Randall Kirby while Baldwin is Dr. Robert Henderson. (But he was clearly poorly trained with an ego the size of Tennessee). A lot of people seem to think its a mix between narcissism and inadequacy. 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 . He is not eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74 years old. Death showrunner Patrick McManus told, It was as if he knew everything to do, Henderson, (played by Alec Baldwin in the Peacock series) told. It was the same with Dallas Medical Center where hedid not face any action. I think some of them he probably did intentionally.. Duntsch graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and completed a residency program in neurosurgery. 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. School librarian Kellie Martin, 55, died during a routine back operation after Duntsch punctured a blood vessel. While psychopaths are classified as people with little or no conscience, sociopaths do have a limited, albeit weak, ability to feel empathy and remorse. Christopher Duntsch, also known as Dr. So come on over and explore our wide range of content today! "[20][4] Under heavy lobbying from Kirby and Henderson, the Texas Medical Board suspended Duntsch's license on June 26, 2013. Kane came into the picture as a deposition witness. Dr. Robert Henderson, a spinal surgeon who later took over Efurds care, would later testify that Duntsch had operated in the wrong place in her back, amputated a nerve root and botched the implantation of a device meant to stabilize her spine. He was even more certain of his brilliance at the end than he was at the beginning, Joshua Jackson tells TheWrap, (Warning: This post contains spoilers through the finale of Peacocks Dr. In addition, he was mixed up with an addiction to cocaine and other drugs, with peers reporting that he would go on all-night benders before operating the next day. Henderson sent Duntsch's picture to the University of Tennessee to determine whether he actually had a degree from that institution and received confirmation that Duntsch, in fact, did. Duntsch was Board Certified to do brain and spinal surgery. That statement is blatantly untrue and the ABNS has written to the Oxygen network and its parent companies to demand a correction. and a Ph.D. from a top-tier medical school, a decade of experience, and a central role in a pioneering stem-cell treatment. It's thrilling if uncomfortable to listen. Duntsch ended up slicing her vertebral artery, stopping blood and oxygen flow to her brain. There is a complexity tohim at times and a kind of tragedy. This all happened despite numerous complaints from surgeons and patients, as well as allegations of drug and alcohol abuse. At any given moment in doing the reporting, I had a different answer. Christopher Duntsch, the focus of Peacock's true crime series Dr. Death, looked good on paper.When he arrived in Dallas in late 2010, Duntsch's resume spoke of a skilled neurosurgeon: An M.D. To be a good doctor, you have to be a good human being. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. Preston and Aiden are both in their twenties now, and have been featured in interviews about their fathers crimes. Kirby began calling the states medical board once a month, but there was no immediate action taken to remove his license. Meanwhile, Brown went brain dead and passed away. While applying to Baylor Regional Medical Center in Plano, TX, Duntsch also provided Dr. Jon Robertson as a reference. Duntsch could have turned it into something good and meaningful. I think everybody in the OR became pretty concerned because Dr. Duntsch was pulling a lot of muscle tissue out of Jerrys neck and there was just a lot of bleeding, Shughart, (portrayed in the series byAnnaSophia Robb), said of the surgery. Jerry Summers, Duntsch's childhood friend, is now a quadriplegic. The company, Discgenics, is still going, and still holds the patents, listingDuntsch, Ignatova, and Kukekov as the inventors. [4] [19], Despite both of his surgeries at Dallas Medical Center going catastrophically awry, hospital officials did not report him to the NPDB. The real question is:Can this TV show bring about a change in medical law, or how hospitals treat their patients and doctors? All Rights Reserved. When other doctors discovered the sponge, Duntsch refused to return to help remove it. As a result of the 2017 trial, Duntsch was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. At Health Grades Duntsch had 4.3 out of 5 stars, "above [the] national average." These medical professionals do irreparable harm to their patients. Like Jerry Summers (played by Dominic Burgess), he basically paralyzed his friend and then went in for a second surgery and essentially decapitated him. She, after being in Duntsch's OR, would never walk again. This could be path-breaking in the future ofcancer treatment andDr. Duntsch sniffed out the opportunity right away. "You don't know this yet, but you will never walk again. 12 Unnerving Facts About Dr. Death Christopher Duntsch - Ranker Yes, Christopher Duntsch had a medical degree. Whats The Difference Between Dutch And French Braids? The eight-episode series is anticipated to be a thrilling watch. Christopher Duntsch was allowed to perform more than 30 botched surgeries in DFW over the course of two years before finally having his license revoked. Will it help patients protect their rights? [36][11][9] For the same reason, prosecutors opted to try Duntsch for Efurd's maiming first. His next patient, Floella Brown was 63. To some, this came off as confidence, but as he brought his ego into medicine, doctors around him started to recognize him as a textbook case of narcissism. Beil's somber reporting on the Wondery podcast titled Dr. Death will send chills down your spine. The series, starring Joshua Jackson asDuntsch, examines that question and finds a deadly combination of mismanagement and a lack of centralized authority in the medical community. The hospital also instructed Duntsch to only perform minor procedures, but his next surgery had an even more catastrophic outcome. Duntsch also received 40 percent of all revenue he generated beyond $800,000 each year. He graduated from one of the top-tier medical schools and completed a residency program for neurosurgery. On July 24, 2012, Duntsch operated on Floella Brown, 64, a banker about to retire after a long career. Dr. Christopher Duntsch came to Texas with an impressive resume. And Patrick [Macmanus, the Dr. Strangely enough, Dr. Boop also mentioned, "I have not operated with Chris." Dr. Death: The Shocking Story of Christopher Duntsch, a Madman with a He played football in high school, but teammates say he was so bad that, no matter how much he practiced, he could never make it. Ellis Unit outside of Huntsville, Texas. In the case of Dr. Out July 15, Dr. Death introduces viewers to Christopher Duntsch, a real-life Texas-based surgeon who in 2017 was sentenced to life in prison after maiming and even killing almost all of the nearly 40 patients he operated on between 2011 and 2013. He declared bankruptcy after listing debts of over $1 million. Don tried to convince the jury that his son cared for his patients. In reality, he makes everything so, so much worse. All eight episodes of Peacocks Dr. To fellow surgeon Mark Hoyle, he said, "Everybody's doing it wrong. It stars Joshua Jackson as Duntsch, Alec Baldwin as Robert Henderson, Christian Slater as Randall Kirby and AnnaSophia Robb as Michelle Shughart. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. Your email address will not be published. You can get access to the first three episodes of Dr. Death with Peacocks free tier. His reckless actions ruined the lives of countless people and serves as an example of how medical malpractice can ruin lives when proper procedures are not followed. He refused to acknowledge anything was wrong, hindering the, This page was last edited on 10 April 2023, at 11:28. In 2012, Summers underwent spinal surgery performed by Dr. Duntsch in an effort to improve his neck and arm pain. Duntsch never completed (and barely even started) the rigorous ABNS Certification process. Gena Lee Nolin: From Baywatchs Neely to Sheenas Queen! After hearing about the shocking death, vascular surgeon Dr. Randall Kirby (portrayed in the series by Christian Slater) reported Duntsch to the Texas Medical Board. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. Dr. Christopher Duntsch seemed to be a successful neurosurgeon in the Dallas area. Joshua Jackson, who plays Duntsch, and AnnaSophia Robb, who plays assistant district attorney Michelle Shughart, the real-life prosecutor responsible for putting Duntsch behind bars, spoke with The Wrap about why they think Dr. Death did it. [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]. [7] He likened what he found when he opened Efurd up to the results of a child playing with Tinkertoys or an erector set. Duntsch was granted temporary surgical privileges at Dallas Medical Center, while hospital officials waited for his medical records to arrive from his former post. Baylor Medical Center-Plano began a formal peer review into the surgery and Duntsch took a leave of absence, but after he passed a drug test and an outside reviewer determined he did not have any drug or psychological issues, his surgery privileges were reinstated. [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. So I definitely think thats a huge part of it. 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. The damage is irreversible. The story of Duntsch is featured in a new Peacock show titled Dr. Death, unleashing the terrifying reality. In an article in Texas Observer,author SaulElbein says that one of the doctors he spoke to likened Duntsch to Hannibal Lecter three times in eight minutes. Floella Brown went under Dr. Death's knife in July 2012 and shortly after her surgery, she suffered a massive stroke caused by Duntsch slicing her vertebral artery during surgery. Now, we're learning more about the true story of this horrific tale with Peacock's Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. Then he also took prescription painkillers and ate a paper blotter of LSD. So the more it became untrue that Duntsch was a good surgeon and it was so obvious and evident from everything that was going on in his life, the more he had to believe over and above everybody else. He wrote, "You will not find a harder working or more willing individual." Home Health An Analysis of Christopher Duntsch, Dr. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. The evidence said otherwise. Christopher Duntsch, also known as "Dr. Death," was a neurosurgeon from Dallas, Texas who had a promising career in medicine until it took a disastrous turn. But on January 6, 2012, a week after the surgery, Duntsch went back in. 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. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. His negligence resulted in many serious and life-altering injuries to his patients, including one of his best friends Jerry Summers who was left quadriplegic after surgery. But hospital after hospital passed the buck. What made him cause damage, trauma and even death to his patients? Or at least a morally upright one. 'Dr. Death' Surgeon Killed or Maimed 33 of His Patients - People Christopher Duntsch, who once claimed to be a mixture of "God, Einstein and the Antichrist," injured or killed 33 of his 38 patients in less than two years, according to prosecutors. ", "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? Glidewell was reportedly still suffering the ill effects of Duntsch's operation years later and has undergone more than 50 procedures to correct the damage. When the story about Christopher Duntsch finally broke, it affected his patients, or rather, hisvictims, but many people missed it. In one, Duntsch tells the story, over stock footage of an operation, of a taxing back surgery he performed on an older woman. Amphibia Season 2 Now Streaming on Disney+! However, the procedure resulted in catastrophic consequences; Summers suffered a vertebral artery dissection that caused paralysis from the neck down and left him a quadriplegic. Duntsch was granted temporary surgical privileges at Dallas Medical Center, while hospital officials waited for his medical records to arrive from his former post. Toby Shook, a Dallas defense attorney, gave a statement toDallas Magazine:"I cannot recall a physician being indicted for aggravated assault for acts committed during surgery. 'Dr. Death': Who Is Jerry Summers and What Happened to Him? - Newsweek The board called in veteran neurosurgeon Martin Lazar to review the case. This way, no one recognizes them as the inventors. An Analysis of Christopher Duntsch, Dr. There are a lot of explanations proposed for why the real-life subject of Peacocks Dr. He remained there for several months before being allowed to return to the residency. I dont think thats a doctor who doesnt know what hes doing. 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. As is the case with programs based on real events, Peacocks Dr. By this time his wife and he had separated and he also filed for bankruptcy. Many doctors indeed believe that Duntsch knew what he was doing they said its like he knew what to do and did the exact opposite. In the deposition, she states that Duntsch snorted cocaine from a handy pile he kept on a dresser at his home. Who is Christopher Duntsch and what did he do? | The US Sun Duntsch landed in jail on a $600,000 bond and waited for the trial to begin. The charges brought against Dr. Duntsch stemmed from a series of botched spinal surgeries that he performed between 2012 and 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. Death portrays him as having only one child, but in reality he has two sons with his wife, Michelle Young. Several of Duntsch's surgeries at Baylor Plano resulted in severely maimed patients: Baylor Plano officials found that Duntsch failed to meet their standards of care and permanently revoked his surgical privileges. Such behavior did not go unnoticed by the other doctors. [4], Longtime spine surgeon Robert Henderson performed the salvage surgery on Efurd. Peacock has released 'Dr. [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. Even the hospitals that he worked for kept enabling him, according to a report by the Dallas County prosecutors. While the school refused to verify or deny his claims, he wasn't in any of the yearbooks of that time. The Dallas district attorneys office discovered through a search of hospital records that Christopher Duntsch, a neurosurgery resident, had only completed about 100 operations during his training. [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. According to his lawyer, Duntsch was a scapegoat. Or did he have an ulterior motive to maim, torture, and even kill some of his patients? A Surgeon So Bad It Was Criminal ProPublica Instead of performing the miracles he promised for his patients, he injured33 out of 38 of the people in his carein less than two years. [13] In 2010, Duntsch moved to Dallas. I mean, he had some surgeries, he had a handful of surgeries that went fine. Ex-surgeon, who allegedly said he wanted to be a serial killer - Chron He proved to be Duntsch's last surgery; University General pushed him out soon afterward. His father, Donald, was a physical therapist and Christian missionary, and his mother, Susan, was a schoolteacher. [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. Copyright 2023 Distractify. During this time period, he was accused of recklessly endangering the lives of at least 33 patients, causing serious injury to five patients, and killing two others through his negligent care. However, he closed Glidewell with the sponge in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. But that isn't the scariest part. And the biggest question on everyones mind is why Dr. Death did it. A companion docuseries Dr. ), As Dr. And this was 10 months before Duntsch's last surgery. When Mary Efurd could no longer walk, Dallas Medical Center called in Dr. Henderson to salvage the botched surgery. Let's delve into what made him tick, and how the medical community failed the victims of Dr. Christopher Daniel Duntsch. William Armstrong is a senior editor with H-O-M-E.org, where he writes on a wide variety of topics. There is no face to the monster you are hearing about, the one destroying lives. Negligence? ", "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? The other survivors suffered damage, disability,and excruciating pain. I think some of them he probably did intentionally. Ignorance? And yet the actual tragedy is that someone could have stopped it.

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