While the school refused to verify or deny his claims, he wasn't in any of the yearbooks of that time. Kane came into the picture as a deposition witness. He'dassisted Dunstch in the operating room before and called his skills pathetic.". Duntsch also received 40 percent of all revenue he generated beyond $800,000 each year. Yes, Christopher Duntsch had a medical degree. 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. School librarian Kellie Martin, 55, died during a routine back operation after Duntsch punctured a blood vessel. This way, no one recognizes them as the inventors. Duntsch did his surgical residency at The University of Tennessee. At Health Grades Duntsch had 4.3 out of 5 stars, "above [the] national average." How much money did Christopher Duntsch make? The Hippocratic Oath is sworn by all doctors and binds them to do no harm. Ignatova believes this to be deliberate. Duntsch will not be eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74. After graduating as a physician with above-average grades, he had his whole life ahead of him. The University of Tennessee refused to comment on grounds of confidentiality, but neurosurgeon Dr. Frederick Boop, under whom Duntsch completed his residency, knew. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Some never went to trial and had out-of-court settlements. He wasn't concerned about the drugs in his system while he did his rounds. With Ignatova and Kukekov in tow, he filed patents under a company he founded. His very first operation at the hospital would once again turn deadly. A veteran investigative reporter in the medical field, her voice enthralls. At the time, Duntsch was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 patients in less than two years before the Texas Medical Board revoked his license. [18] He damaged patient Philip Mayfield's spinal cord, drilling into it and leaving him partially paralyzed from the neck down. With such goings-on, Duntsch got himself kicked out of his own company. When Mary Efurd could no longer walk, Dallas Medical Center called in Dr. Henderson to salvage the botched surgery. Hospitals are liable only if the plaintiff can prove that the hospital was also malicious, that it knew of the risk and ignored it. [4], Longtime spine surgeon Robert Henderson performed the salvage surgery on Efurd. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! I think the way that his ego was constructed especially weirdly, and I guess this is just narcissistic personality, the more untrue it gets, the more you hold onto that truth. 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. However, by the time he met Young, Duntsch was over $500,000 in debt. Your email address will not be published. He showed a complete lack of knowledge regarding anatomy and medical procedures, making numerous mistakes along the way that should have been avoided. Duntsch landed in jail on a $600,000 bond and waited for the trial to begin. What made him cause damage, trauma and even death to his patients? He took out so much of his spinal cord that he couldnt keep his head up. [48], In 2019, Duntsch was the focus of the premiere episode of License to Kill, Oxygen's series on criminal medical professionals. ", "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. Most doctors would pull themselves out of the field after a few botched surgeries because of the guilt they have to carry after permanently hurting someone. My take on it is, for him, it was hubris, Jackson told TheWrap. 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. As is the case with programs based on real events, Peacocks Dr. In 2014, they performed a complicated spinal fusion surgery on Glidewell, which ultimately ended up being Dr. Duntschs final surgery before he was arrested and charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault. Was Dr Christopher Duntsch board certified? Dubbed angels of death, they leave a trail of damage andloss for many reasons: human fallibility, malaise, or malice. At Baylor Regional Medical Center,after botched surgeries and complaints from fellow doctors, Duntsch resigned. [40][41] On May 8, 2019, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused Duntschs petition for discretionary review. I have one last thing to remind the Texas Medical Boardyour mission is to protect the publicDr. 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. And how many other doctors who arent as insane as Dr. Duntsch like, there are multiple seasons of Dr. Her response echoed what she shared on the podcast. At any given moment in doing the reporting, I had a different answer. Death, Surgery Records, Conjoined Twins Abby and Brittany Hensel Decide on Procreation, Danny DeVito Short Statures Is Not A Hindrance to Success, Mayim Bialik Talks About Prader-Willi Syndrome. If youre a big fan of NBCs stable of shows, want to catch up on some past hit movies or just dont want to shell out the cash for Netflix or Hulu, the free version of Peacock is great. [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. Former teammates later said that, while Duntsch trained hard, he lacked talent at the game. The deal required Duntsch to gain privileges at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. Duntsch's license was finally revoked in June 2013, after he had killed two patients and maimed 31 others. 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's thrilling if uncomfortable to listen. She was deposed over Skype since, at the time, she was stationed with the Air Force in the Middle East. Your email address will not be published. He was subsequently convicted of all charges in February 2017 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Unfortunately, Martin and Brown were not alive to tell their tale. [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. 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 took the Texas Medical Board one whole year to investigate and finally revoke Duntsch's license. "Dr. Death"and the companion docuseries "Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story" are both available to stream on Peacock now. Across two years, Duntsch injured 32 of his 38 patients, maiming many and leaving them with life-changing injuries. Duntsch never completed (and barely even started) the rigorous ABNS Certification process. [35], The last charge was for the maiming and paralyzing of Efurd. Duntsch was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2017, finally ensuring the scalpel would stay out of his hands. After undergoing physical rehabilitation, Mayfield was able to walk with a cane but continued to experience paralysis on the right side of his body and in his left arm. That seems like something that goes far beyond. His best friend Jerry Summers (played by Dominic Burgess) was left a. Duntsch's resume shows a doctorate in microbiology from the St. Jude Children'sResearch Hospital. Martin paid with her lifebecause her doctor was too proud to say he screwed up. Dr. Death might not have cared about being a surgeon, just the prestige that came with it. Death,' Dallas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch", "Texas neurosurgeon nicknamed 'Dr. You'd think that a surgeon who was this bad would have some mud spattered on him on the internet. St. Jude refuted this by saying there was no such program there at that time. The majority of neurosurgery residents participate in over 1,000 surgeries throughout their residency period. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. What turned Dr. Christopher Duntsch into Dr. Death? From celebrity gossip to healthy living tips and from new technologies to educational resources - we have it all! The real question is:Can this TV show bring about a change in medical law, or how hospitals treat their patients and doctors? Once back in the operating room, his work resulted in the same deadly consequences, according to Texas Medical Board records. The seeds of greed were sown. [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. 5 of Dallas County (opinion)", "Texas Court of Appeals Affirms Conviction of 'Dr. However, he closed Glidewell with the sponge in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. And there were plenty of other signs as well. [4] In an article for The Texas Prosecutor, the journal of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, Shughart and the other members of the trial team recalled that their superiors were initially skeptical when they presented the case, but eventually found themselves in "overwhelming disbelief" that a surgeon could do what Duntsch was accused of doing. 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. Let's delve into what made him tick, and how the medical community failed the victims of Dr. Christopher Daniel Duntsch. Dr. Christopher Duntsch came to Texas with an impressive resume. This lawsuit was eventually settled out of court in 2013. In 2017, he was convicted on five counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and sentenced to life in prison. The board called in veteran neurosurgeon Martin Lazar to review the case. There are 31 people left alive today, irreparably damaged by Dr. Death's grievous malpractices. [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. The civil attorneys in these cases were able to land a rather damning e-mail sent from Duntsch to his girlfriend/physical assistant.The girlfriend was Kimberly Morgan, and in the e-mail to her, the ramblings of a mind gone wrong are clear. [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. This may have been out of personal preference, or due to a lack of attention to detail on his part. [9], 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. For instance, he came to work wearing the same tattered scrubs for three days in a row. Having exhausted his football eligibility, Duntsch decided to switch to a career in medicine. I mean, he had some surgeries, he had a handful of surgeries that went fine. ", "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? Swango is estimated to have been involved in as many as 60 fatal poisonings of patients and colleagues, though he admitted to causing only four deaths. In 2017, Duntsch was found guilty of gross negligence and sentenced to life in prison without parole. A bold pronouncement, yet after just one sloppy, dangerous surgery, Hoyle vowednever to work with Duntsch again. Required fields are marked *.
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