document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2012-2023 On Secret Hunt - All Rights Reserved Dr. Death, a.k.a. School librarian Kellie Martin, 55, died during a routine back operation after Duntsch punctured a blood vessel. "It was as if the person doing the surgery knew what he was doing but did everything wrong," Dr. Jerry Summers, Duntsch's childhood friend, is now a quadriplegic. Jerrys death is particularly tragic as it is linked to the surgeon from the podcast series Dr Death. He is a graduate of Evangelical Christian School in the Cordova suburb of Memphis, where he starred in football.[7]. In reality, he makes everything so, so much worse. Days later, the board temporarily suspended Duntschs license and later decided to revoke his license entirely. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. 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. Its easier for a hospital to just kick the can down the road and let the doctor become some other hospitals problem than to risk backlash from the doctor, she said. At morning meetings, Page would see Duntsch mixing a vodka orange. Not only did he harm his patients, but he kept trying to practice. Unfortunately, Martin and Brown were not alive to tell their tale. Duntsch could have turned it into something good and meaningful. This despite the drug problems as well as incomplete residency training. Christopher Duntsch, the former neurosurgeon known for saying he wanted to "leave the love and kindness and goodness and patience" and "become a cold-blooded serial killer," is . How Do You Get Rid Of Hiccups In 5 Seconds. No such thing. As a result of the 2017 trial, Duntsch was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. William was born in Denton, TX and currently resides in Austin. The 31 people who survived Dr. Duntsch's scalpel face a struggle for the rest of their lives. [47] A follow-up docuseries, Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story, was later released on Peacock on July 29, 2021, featuring interviews with some of Duntsch's patients and colleagues, as well as with Henderson, Kirby and Shughart. [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. [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". When he finally came to the hospital, he busied himself with another patient, also on the DA's list, Mary Efurd. Another was rendered a quadriplegic and died a decade later from a related infection. Lopez answers Henderson's frustrationin a somber tone, sayingthat while you may know a doctor is bad, gathering evidence takes time. She was deposed over Skype since, at the time, she was stationed with the Air Force in the Middle East. The hospital initiated another peer review, but Duntsch resigned rather than face certain termination. This was the time when Dr. Christopher Duntsch started to turn intoDr. Death. The financial incentives are a huge part of what was driving him and what was driving the people all around to continue to believe in him in and invest in him despite the fact that there were all these red flags, Shugart said of Duntsch'sability to continue to gain employment. There are multiple seasons of poor oversight and hospitals who dont necessarily want to deal with the consequences. 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. [4], Early in his tenure at Baylor Plano, Duntsch made a poor impression on his fellow surgeons. One of the early investors in Duntsch's company Discgenics was Dr. Rand Page. [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. [19] Prosecutors sought a sentence long enough to ensure that Duntsch would never be able to practice medicine again. While psychopaths are classified as people with little or no conscience, sociopaths do have a limited, albeit weak, ability to feel empathy and remorse. The Texas DA chose six patients to make their case to the jury: Lee Passmore, Barry Morguloff, Jerry Summers, Kellie Martin, Floella Brown, and Mary Efurd. They argued that Duntsch was motivated to continue operating because the lucrative salary of a neurosurgeon would solve his mounting financial problems. Philip Mayfield, one of Christopher Duntsch's patients, who was paralyzed after his surgery. 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. Out of his 38 surgeries, only three had no complications. 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. This way, no one recognizes them as the inventors. After his arrest, he still had those loving parents. With such goings-on, Duntsch got himself kicked out of his own company. But for his victims, the judgment was a big relief. Duntsch landed in jail on a $600,000 bond and waited for the trial to begin. In the shows finale, it falls to assistant district attorney Michelle Shughart (AnnaSophia Robb) to convince a jury that it wasnt primarily Duntschs poor training, but his own nature that made him harm these people just as the real Shughart did when she got Duntsch sentenced to life in prison in 2017 on an elder abuse charge against one of his patients. He refused to abort the surgery even after a trauma surgeon colleague and an anesthesiologist warned him about the blood loss. Feb. 7, 2017. An Analysis of Christopher Duntsch, Dr. Dr. Death: The Shocking Story of Christopher Duntsch, a Madman with a While applying to Baylor Regional Medical Center in Plano, TX, Duntsch also provided Dr. Jon Robertson as a reference. [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. 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=1149133921, American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Texas, University of Tennessee Health Science Center alumni, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. And the biggest question on everyones mind is why Dr. Death did it. The real question is:Can this TV show bring about a change in medical law, or how hospitals treat their patients and doctors? ", "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. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. 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. Death Based On A True Story, His resume is about 12 pages long, so he looks really good on paper, exactly the kind of doctor that youd be looking for, Michelle Shughart, assistant district attorney in Dallas County told, (And if you want to dive even deeper into the story, you can also watch the new docuseries, on Peacock, which features interviews with numerous people intimately involved in the case. 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+! You'd think that a surgeon who was this bad would have some mud spattered on him on the internet. Since no one else knew what was wrong, they couldn't save her. Two of his patients died as the direct result of his actions in the operating room. B. Ellis Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville. ", "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. 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. No, Jerry Summers, who was Christophers childhood friend, is no longer alive. He promises to take all pain and suffering away. To add to this, his so-called Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center may also be dubious. By this time, however, Brown was brain dead. Dallas Magazine statesthatDuntsch became key in supplying samples to scientists for research. Duntsch suggested drilling a hole in Brown's head to relieve the pressure, but was refused permission. [9] Duntsch completed his undergraduate degree in 1995, then continued on to an ambitious MDPhD program. Former teammates later said that, while Duntsch trained hard, he lacked talent at the game. The hospital saved face and avoided any lawsuits. It stars Joshua Jackson as Duntsch, Alec Baldwin as Robert Henderson, Christian Slater as Randall Kirby and AnnaSophia Robb as Michelle Shughart. Death showrunner] says this all the time, if he had taken a right instead of a left, if he had done strictly research and not gone into surgery, would any of this have happened? 'Dr. Death' Explores Christopher Duntsch's Many Botched Surgeries Due to the debilitating pain, Fennell later had a second operation by Duntsch to relieve it, and was left significantly paralyzed in his legs. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. [4] Duntsch also claimed to have graduated magna cum laude from St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital with a doctorate in microbiology a program that the hospital did not offer at the time he allegedly attended. Negligence? [48], In 2019, Duntsch was the focus of the premiere episode of License to Kill, Oxygen's series on criminal medical professionals. Hospital officials were exasperated when Duntsch refused to delay Efurd's surgery, and asked him multiple times to care for Brown or transfer her out of his care. A companion docuseries Dr. Dr. Christopher Duntsch had the hallmarks of an impressive neurosurgeon, at least in theory. [38], Duntsch is housed at the O. The Incredible Genetic Trait Childbearing Hips. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Death limited series, neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duntsch (played by Joshua Jackson), maimed and killed so many patients who came in for complex but routine procedures. Seven more doctors voiced complaints before TMB finally canceled Dr. Death's license. "You don't know this yet, but you will never walk again. But I think it speaks to the inequality of who is in power in these bureaucratic institutions where it has to be like two top surgeons who go after him nonstop, putting their necks out, who have to get the government involved, rather than just like a nurse who knows whats up just saying, This didnt go well, and they could just be fired without consequence.. Or did he have an ulterior motive to maim, torture, and even kill some of his patients? After getting his undergraduate degree in 1995, Duntsch enrolled at the University of Tennessee at Memphis. Christopher Duntsch, also known as Dr. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Why Did Dr. Death Do It? 'Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story' Explains At Health Grades Duntsch had 4.3 out of 5 stars, "above [the] national average." Duntsch could have turned it into something good and meaningful. The very first complaint should have triggered an investigation. Duntsch will not be eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74. Now, we're learning more about the true story of this horrific tale with Peacock's Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story. But Robb thinks this unknown factor is what makes this story so interesting to Dr. I have one last thing to remind the Texas Medical Boardyour mission is to protect the publicDr. Duntsch stuffed a surgical sponge in Glidewell's throat to stanch the bleeding. [4], After 13 days of trial, the jury needed only four hours to convict him for the maiming of Efurd. The story of Duntsch is featured in a new Peacock show titled Dr. Death, unleashing the terrifying reality. Death viewers. Welcome to H-O-M-E.org, your one stop shop for all the best in entertainment, movies, music, celebrities, health, lifestyle, sports, technology and education. As Dr. Dubrow made clear in a 2015 interview with Allure, he and his partner in crime dont work for free on Botched, particularly as it takes up so much of their time. Christopher Duntsch. and a Ph.D. from a top-tier medical school, a decade of experience, and a central role in a pioneering stem-cell treatment. He wrote grants and secured more than $3 million in funding. Duntsch's resume shows a doctorate in microbiology from the St. Jude Children'sResearch Hospital. Duntsch is a former neurosurgeon born in 1971 in Montana . But that isn't the scariest part. 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. This very friend would later end up a quadriplegic under Duntsch's weapon of a scalpel. For instance, he came to work wearing the same tattered scrubs for three days in a row. The True Story Behind Peacock's 'Dr. Death' | Time On July 24, 2012, Duntsch operated on Floella Brown, 64, a banker about to retire after a long career. Death: The Undoctored Story launches July 29. 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. He is not eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74 years old. In a 2018 Reddit AMA, one user asked her, In your opinion, was Duntsch really a cold-blooded killer like he wrote in his email, or was he a poorly and undertrained drugged-up neurosurgeon with an ego the size of Tennessee?. [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]. 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. A husband and wife pair of Russian stem cell scientists, Valery Kukekov and Tatyana Ignatova entered the picture. We tried everything we could but, you know, it took a long time to get the boat moving in the right direction and unfortunately there were some patients that were injured as a part of it, Kirby told American Greed.. When the story about Christopher Duntsch finally broke, it affected his patients, or rather, hisvictims, but many people missed it. 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. Even the hospitals that he worked for kept enabling him, according to a report by the Dallas County prosecutors. The Untold Truth Of Dr. Death - Grunge The Secrets of Stardew Valleys Elusive Eel, Praetorium FFXIV A Different Perspective, Edwin Rist: The Feather Thief of the British Museum, New Moon: Reflecting Edwards Perspective, Storing Brazil Nuts for Maximum Shelf Life, The Mysterious Clicks of the Black Bird: Deciphering The Noise. There are some who believe that he never wanted to be in the ORat all. 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. Duntsch never completed (and barely even started) the rigorous ABNS Certification process. Dr. Death's Christopher Duntsch Is Now Serving a Life Sentence At one point, he was only able to eat small bites of food at one time. 'Dr. Death' Surgeon Killed or Maimed 33 of His Patients - People The world at large may have never heard of Dr. Death but for Laura Beil. Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a formr nurse practitioner in Dallas, Texas, was found guilty of maiming his elderly patient Mary Efurd and was sentenced to life in prison in February 2017. Death showrunner Patrick McManus told, It was as if he knew everything to do, Henderson, (played by Alec Baldwin in the Peacock series) told. ", "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. Preston and Aiden are both in their twenties now, and have been featured in interviews about their fathers crimes. ), As Dr. 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. [4][5] In 2017, he was convicted of maiming one of his patients and sentenced to life imprisonment. Ex-surgeon, who allegedly said he wanted to be a serial killer - Chron Before his license was revoked by the Texas Medical Board, he was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 . Duntsch left Dallas Medical Center, but once again was not reported to the national data bankbecause he was not a full staff member and only worked there using temporary privileges. However, he closed Glidewell with the sponge in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. Because of a valuable patent the company owned, they let him through the gates and out into the world. Ignorance? Glidewell was left with only one vocal cord, permanent damage to his esophagus and partial paralysis on his left side. How many people did Christopher Duntsch kill? "[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. There is a complexity tohim at times and a kind of tragedy. The Link Between Chris Benoits Health and CTE, Dr. Phil Breaks Silence on Medical Condition, The Legacy of Attila: From Wu-Tang Clan to Hollywood, Britney Spears Journey from Star Search to Superstardom, Danielle Colbys Pivotal Role in American Pickers, Alligators Eating Humans: The Truth Behind the Myth. The surgery had left him unable to move his arms and legs, making him a quadriplegic. Many shake and tremble, some have unimaginable pain. What made him cause damage, trauma and even death to his patients? With Ignatova and Kukekov in tow, he filed patents under a company he founded. The evidence said otherwise. [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. I think some of them he probably did intentionally. 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. He'dassisted Dunstch in the operating room before and called his skills pathetic.". Prior to his criminal charges, he was running research labs and was considered to be an up-and-coming neurosurgeon. "Dr. Death," a new series streaming now on Peacock, peels back the facade Duntsch created and exposesthe mercurial and dangerous man beneath. All Rights Reserved. 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. That seems like something that goes far beyond. Some never went to trial and had out-of-court settlements. As a result of the 2017 trial, Duntsch was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. 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. Dr. Death - Series Premiere Discussion : r/television - Reddit He decided to turn to neurosurgery, which can be a lucrative field. When Henderson saw the imaging from Duntsch's surgery, he was certain that there would be legal action, and had the salvage surgery recorded. Mary Efurd was one of these victims; she underwent surgery to treat her back pain in July 2012 but instead suffered an irreparable spinal cord injury that left her permanently paralyzed from the neck down. 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 with that terrifying track record, how was he able to continue to operate? 'Dr. Death' clings to the wrong part of a true story - Mic Muse woke up in considerable pain, but Duntsch convinced him it was normal. Prosecutors also faulted Duntsch's employers for not reporting him. Jodi Smith. The evidence collected by the DA's office by subpoenaing every hospital on his CVshows Duntsch completes a fraction of these. His investors took him to court. A Surgeon So Bad It Was Criminal ProPublica Duntsch initially attended Millsaps College to play Division III college football, and later transferred to Division I Colorado State University. What Was 'Dr. Death' Christopher Duntsch's Background? | True Crime Buzz During his trial, it was revealed that Dr. Duntsch had disregarded safety protocols and deviated from accepted surgical practices when operating on Summers, leading to his tragic outcome. A veteran investigative reporter in the medical field, her voice enthralls. Saul Elbein writes in the Texas Observer that Dr. Hendersonsent him a recording of his complaint to the Texas Medical Board. He was subsequently convicted of all charges in February 2017 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The information it tracks, includingmalpractice payouts and suspensions, is available only to hospital administrators, not doctors or patients. Duntsch wrote that he accepted he was a cold-blooded killer. [33][34] The indictments were made four months before the statute of limitations were to run out. Like Boop, Dr. Robertson also gave Duntsch a great review. When the Texas Medical Board revoked his license, Duntsch's reign of surgical terror had run its course. This suggests that Summers had come to terms with Duntsch and had moved past any ill feelings he may have held against him. The statute of limitations made them base their case on only six victims. [38][39] On December 10, 2018, the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed Duntsch's conviction by a 21 split decision. Muse spiraled into opioid addiction that cost him his wife and his job. So I definitely think thats a huge part of it. The Texas Medical Board launched an investigation and found that Duntsch was performing unnecessary and risky procedures on his patients without informing them of the potential risks and complications. By this time, Duntsch was almost penniless, and the judge had to appoint a lawyer for him. And so I think, backed into the corner of his whole life falling apart, he was even more certain of his brilliance at the end than he was at the beginning., I think it was a mixture of both intent and ineptitude, the actress told TheWrap. [23][19][24], While operating on Efurd, Duntsch severed one of her nerve roots during spinal fusion surgery while operating on the wrong portion of her back, twisted a screw into another nerve, left screw holes on the opposite side of her spine, failed to remove the disc he was supposed to remove, and left surgical hardware in her muscle tissue so loose that it moved when touched. You can also watchAmerican Greedon CNBC, and Oxygen's own "License to Kill," which profiled Duntsch's deadly malpractice. They go, We met the funniest, funniest doctor in Newport Beach,' the newlywed surgeon once shared. At any given moment in doing the reporting, I had a different answer. 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. When other doctors discovered the sponge, Duntsch refused to return to help remove it. 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. Christopher Duntsch had two children: Preston and Aiden. But on January 6, 2012, a week after the surgery, Duntsch went back in. "Dr. Death" Sentenced to Life in Prison. [44] The Dallas County district attorney's office called it "a historic case with respect to prosecuting a doctor who had done wrong during surgery. According to his lawyer, Duntsch was a scapegoat. Death Series, Dr. According to ProPublica, Boop was aware of a complaint Duntsch used drugs before seeing patients. 33 of his 37 surgeries were botched, with two dead and 31 injured for life. [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. After this late-night party,Duntsch went to work the next morning. He then packed it with too much of a substance intended to stop the bleeding. Gena Lee Nolin: From Baywatchs Neely to Sheenas Queen! Adams, Michael Kirk, Jack Kirk, and Michael Swan, as well as the press nickname Dr. Death, is an American physician and an admitted serial killer. 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. These operations were not all successful; the exact number of successful surgeries performed by Duntsch is unknown. What happened to Christopher Duntsch? When he finally turned up again, he was made to attended a program for impaired physicians.