"If he wasn't doing research, he was out with Jerry Summers, partying," Morgan said in her deposition. [8] Duntsch returned home to attend Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis). Not only was he not qualified for and held no privileges to perform brain surgery, but Dallas Medical did not have the proper equipment or personnel for such an operation. He then prescribed Muse so much Percocet that a pharmacist refused to fill the prescription. The operation should have taken less than ninety minutes; it ultimately lasted four and a half hours. He was left with pain so debilitating he could not work any longer and now spends most of his days at home. Although he wasn't a talented athlete, he trained for hours on his own and made it as a linebacker on his high school football team at Evangelical Christian School in Memphis. Duntsch earned his undergraduate degree in 1995 and enrolled at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. [48], In 2019, Duntsch was the focus of the premiere episode of License to Kill, Oxygen's series on criminal medical professionals. ", "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? Efurd was left paralyzed. Caroline is a writer and Florida-transplant currently living in New York City. 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 .
In 2006, Duntsch teamed up with two Russian stem cell scientists: Valery Kukekov and Tatyana Ignatova. He was brilliant. The television series Dr. Death based on the incident, began streaming on Peacock in July 2021. Ellis Unit outside of Huntsville, Texas. This meant Summers could still feel pain, but was unable to move from the neck down.
Is Dr. Death on Netflix? Where to watch Dr. Death online 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 ran two labs, gained experience writing grants, and earned more than $3 million in funding for research projects. During a deposition, Megan Krane recalled Duntsch eating a paper blotter of LSD and taking prescription painkillers on his birthday. In September 2012, Jeff Cheney went to Duntsch to relieve the pain that had moved from his shoulder down to his arm.
Neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch was nicknamed Dr Death: Evil Lives Dr. Henderson thought the operation on Mary Efurd was so botched that Christopher Duntsch had to be an imposter. The patient was Mary Efurd coming in for a second operation. Cheney recalled wondering why a neurosurgeon with such outstanding credentials would be operating at a lower-tiered hospital on the way to his surgery. During this time, he ran two successful labs and raised millions of dollars in grant funding. Part of the problem was being able to prove that Duntsch's actions were willful as defined by Texas law. Wendy Renee Young and Christopher Duntsch first met in 2011 at a Beauty Shop bar in Memphis. [9][10], Duntsch had severed Brown's vertebral artery, and refused to abort despite the massive blood loss. [4], Upon applying for work, he looked extremely qualified on paper: he had spent a total of fifteen years in training (medical school, residency and fellowship), and his curriculum vitae was twelve single-spaced pages. When Henderson saw the imaging from Duntsch's surgery, he was certain that there would be legal action, and had the salvage surgery recorded. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! "[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. Death'? However, things soon went south. Dr. Death in surgery. [13] In 2010, Duntsch moved to Dallas.
Christopher Duntsch's Emails Are Threatening and Bewildering - Yahoo Duntsch also removed so much bone and muscle tissue from Summers' neck that his head was no longer secure on his body. (The Associated Press) A Texas neurosurgeon branded a "sociopath" by his colleagues could be facing 99 years in prison over multiple charges of intentionally botching .
Gaps in medical, legal systems may allow other 'Dr. Deaths' to practice Lee Passmore was thirty-seven and worked as a field agent for the Collin County medical examiner. In May 2013, Dr. Randall Kirby was invited to a dinner by University General Hospital to meet their new neurosurgeon, Dr. Duntsch.
Christopher Duntsch: A Review of Clinicide - Walsh Medical Media [4], After 13 days of trial, the jury needed only four hours to convict him for the maiming of Efurd. 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. After interviewing dozens of Duntsch's patients and their survivors, prosecutors concluded that Duntsch's actions were indeed criminal, and nothing short of imprisonment would prevent him from practicing medicine again. She had suffered from lower back pain for years and was referred to Duntsch by her pain management doctor. On top of this, he misspelled both Kukekov and Ignatova's names. Dr. Duntsch assured Muse that the pain was normal and prescribed him, strong pain killers, causing him to spiral into an addiction. 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. Duntsch severed his vertebral nerve, his vocal cords, cut a hole in his esophagus, sliced through an artery, and mistook part of his neck muscle as a tumor.
Here's All That Has Happened to the Real Christopher Duntsch A - Yahoo! As a result, Summers lost almost 1,200 mL of blood. Jeff Cheney later learned that part of his spinal cord had been cut during the operation. Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move and theoretically get a medical license in another state. One of the early investors in DiscGenics, Rand Page, said Duntsch would be mixing a vodka orange juice during their morning meetings. After his license was revoked,Duntsch fled from Texas. Unfortunately, it's all too real. He is not eligible for parole until 2045; he will be 74 years old by then. The two went back to Duntsch's home and danced under a disco ball he had in his office. "Dr. Death" is based on the chart-topping podcast of the same name that, in turn, is based on the horrifying true story of Christopher Duntsch. Despite this refusal, Duntsch was allowed to finish his residency. The last charge was for the maiming and paralyzing of Efurd. 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.
Who Were The Victims Of Dr. Christopher Duntsch? | True Crime Buzz A patient who was left barely able to walk and in constant pain after undergoing two botched surgeries at the hands of killer neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch says he 'guarantees' there are other . However, Mayfield still woke up with paralysis on occasion. 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. He wanted to become a doctor, and not just any doctor - a neurosurgeon, operating on injured backs and necks. Now, one of the several complaints against the .
'Dr. Death': Who Is Kim Morgan, and What Happened to Her? Dr. Death, read about how reckless surgeon Robert Liston killed his patient and two bystanders.
'Dr. Death' Peacock Review: Stream It Or Skip It? - Decider Despite all of this, Duntsch was retained by South Hampton when new owners bought it and renamed it University General Hospital. Summers asked Duntsch to fix his chronic neck pain from a high school football injury that had gotten worse after a car accident. [19][16] 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. Before his license was revoked by the Texas Medical Board, he was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 . Trusty was never told she was participating in an infomercial and believed Duntsch had been selected as the top neurosurgeon in Dallas and was participating in a video about the award. [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". Now, his time at the university . Three holes had been poked into Efurd's spinal column where Duntsch had tried and failed to insert screws. Dr. Fulton never worked with Duntsch again. Baylor wanted Duntsch operating quickly and often so they could be reimbursed for the monies they had advanced to him. Christopher Duntsch a.k.a. Christopher Daniel Duntsch (born April 3, 1971) is a former American neurosurgeon who has been nicknamed Dr. D. and Dr. Death for gross malpractice resulting in the maiming of several patients' spines and two deaths while working at hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.. Duntsch was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 patients in less than two years before his license was revoked by the . Christopher was raised along with his three younger siblings in a wealthy suburb in Memphis, Tennessee. Prosecutors also faulted Duntsch's employers for not reporting him. [18] He damaged patient Philip Mayfield's spinal cord, drilling into it and leaving him partially paralyzed from the neck down. ", You know in the beginning he talked about marriage. Duntsch told his friends and family that Passmore would be fine in a day or two and to not worry about it. A Texas neurosurgeon accused of intentionally botching multiple spinal surgeries, resulting in the death of two . There are a lot of explanations proposed for why the real-life subject of Peacock's "Dr. Death" limited series, neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duntsch (played by Joshua Jackson), maimed and . Duntsch was in a long-term relationship with Wendy Renee Young, after the pair met at a bar in Memphis when she was 27 and he was 40. At the time, hospitals were not required to report doctors who only had temporary privileges. 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. When he began at MISI, Duntsch hired an assistant, Kimberly Morgan, and she started on August 29, 2011. He was wearing the shirt of his black scrubs, and it was covered in blood.
12 Unnerving Facts About Dr. Death Christopher Duntsch - Ranker It had come from Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. "[20][4] Under heavy lobbying from Kirby and Henderson, the Texas Medical Board suspended Duntsch's license on June 26, 2013. Despite his colleagues being [] February 22, 2017. Duntsch initially attended Millsaps College to play Division III college football, and later transferred to Division I Colorado State University. He is very caring and took the time to help me understand my pain issues. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. [38][39] On December 10, 2018, the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed Duntsch's conviction by a 21 split decision. The Judge overseeing this case is GINSBERG, CARL. Dr. Death in surgery. by Saul Elbein. 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. He was a genius. [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. The problem was that Dallas Medical Center did not perform those or even have the proper equipment to do them.