Mayfield also suffered from random fainting spells that happen every few weeks. [4], Longtime spine surgeon Robert Henderson performed the salvage surgery on Efurd. In January 2013, Kenneth Fennell was scheduled for another operation because he was still experiencing extreme pain in his back. So, Summers used the only thing he had left, his voice, to scream and yell, even telling the nurses that he and Duntsch had done an eight ball of cocaine the night before his surgery. Then, on July 24, 2012, he operated on Floella Brown. The Dallas district attorney's office subpoenaed every hospital on Duntsch's CV for records of his surgeries. After intense rehab and his determination, eventually, he was able to use a walker and cane to mobilize himself. For instance, he came to work wearing the same tattered scrubs for three days in a row. He is very caring and took the time to help me understand my pain issues. Ellis Unit prison in Huntsville, Texas. However, by the time he met Young, Duntsch was over $500,000 in debt. 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. As he lay there in agony, Duntsch was nowhere to be found. Mary Efurd: While Brown was dying, Duntsch was operating on Mary Efurd, a 71-year-old anxious to return to her treadmill after surgery to relieve her back pain. His father, Donald, was a physical therapist and Christian missionary, and his mother, Susan, was a schoolteacher. My experience with this doctor has been great. Unfortunately, it's all too real. Part of the problem was being able to prove that Duntsch's actions were willful as defined by Texas law. Henderson sent Duntsch's picture to the University of Tennessee to determine whether he had a degree from that institution and received confirmation that Duntsch was not a fraud. Baylor officials took Summers' accusation seriously and ordered Duntsch to take a drug test. He moved in with his parents in Colorado and filed for bankruptcy, claiming around one million dollars in debt. 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. 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. She was moved to the ICU and died due to blood loss. Dr. Duntsch said to Cheney, "I don't know why you're this way. In September 2012, Jeff Cheney went to Duntsch to relieve the pain that had moved from his shoulder down to his arm. The True Story Of Christopher Duntsch, The Killer Surgeon Known As Dr. The Texas Medical Board would later conclude that Brown died of excessive blood loss and a stroke, according to The Texas Observer . He secured investments in Discgenics from local spine surgeons, including Dr. Robertson and Dr. Kevin Foley, a prominent Memphis neurosurgeon Duntsch spent a year training under as part of the surgery fellowship at the Semmes-Murphey Clinic. 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. Officers said he was driving on the left side of the road with two flat tires. Shughart countered that the 2011 email, sent after his first surgeries went wrong, proved that Duntsch knew his actions were intentional. Many readers may recognize the name Christopher Duntsch, a doctor who allegedly was negligent in his practice for years before finally being stripped of his medical license. Ellis Unit outside of Huntsville, Texas. Wendy Young knew her ex-boyfriend Christopher Duntsch's medical career was unraveling, but she wasn't prepared for what she said was his bizarre behavior that coincided with his fall from grace as a surgeon.. "Christopher Duntsch, Texas Medical Board license number N8183, is an impaired physician, a sociopath, and must be stopped from practicing medicine." Robin Glidewell also sent a letter . He graduated from a top-tier medical school, was running research labs, and completed a residency program for neurosurgery. 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. At one point, he was only able to eat small bites of food at one time. July 14, 2021. [9] Texas Medical Board Revocation Order. Duntsch pierced and blocked her vertebral artery with a misplaced screw and refused to stop despite the massive blood loss. [7] He likened what he found when he opened Efurd up to the results of a child playing with Tinkertoys or an erector set. He might have been fired from the Institute but was still a surgeon at Baylor Plano. Ratings for Dr. Christopher D. Duntsch, Inactive. 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. Dr. Frederick Boop, chief of neurosurgery at the hospital where Duntsch was completing his residency, said that university officials asked Duntsch to take a drug test. When Duntsch finally returned on Monday, he was fired. However, the surgery had to be moved to November 14 because Duntsch had failed to order the appropriate surgical hardware and equipment. The case status is Disposed - Other Disposed. Duntsch continued to medicate Morguloff with prescription pain killers and ignored the change in his condition. A few days later, he took the test and passed. He was brilliant. [10][7], Duntsch completed his residency having participated in fewer than 100 surgeries. Former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch is one of the most infamous doctors ever brought to trial in a criminal case, and with good reason. Duntsch also received forty percent of all revenue he generated beyond $800,000 each year. Then check out the horrifying story of Simon Bramhall, a surgeon who admitted to burning his initials into patients livers. A Texas jury found Christopher Duntsch guilty Feb. 14 of maiming patients who had turned to him for surgery to resolve debilitating injuries. Despite this refusal, Duntsch was allowed to finish his residency. Berry Morguloff was Dr. Duntsch's next unsuspecting victim. To see the rest of Dr. Christopher Duntsch's murder and maiming spree, and the fight to stop him, you'll need to purchase Peacock premium. But police say an email Duntsch wrote in 2011 points to his mind-set in the months before he "intentionally, knowingly and . We've had a catastrophic event here. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Typically, neurosurgery residents participate in over 1,000 surgeries in the course of their residency. [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. No one can pay to remove ratings. Inside The Death Of Chris Benoit, The Professional Wrestler Who Killed His Family And Then Himself, Archaeologists Just Uncovered A Massive Roman Phallic Carving In Spain And It Might Be The Biggest Ever Found, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. She was left with just one vocal cord. Efurd was left paralyzed. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. I am sorry in advance that this blog post is so long. Christopher Duntsch was a neurosurgeon who radiated confidence. [31][16] The inquiry went nowhere until 2015, when the statute of limitations on any potential charges was due to run out. Duntsch continued operating despite clear signs that Martin was losing massive amounts of blood. executive producer explains how Christopher Duntsch could have avoided prison. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971. Jeff Cheney later learned that part of his spinal cord had been cut during the operation. [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. One of the patients who suffered disastrous consequences was Jerry Summers, the boyfriend of Megan Kane and a friend of Christopher Duntsch. However, Duntsch was allowed to resign, and the hospital didn't notify the National Practitioner Data Bankagain. [46], Dr. Death, a TV mini-series based on the podcast, began streaming on Peacock on July 15, 2021. 11:15 PM on Mar 1, 2014 CST. i feel much better now ! An MRI revealed that multiple bone fragments in his spinal canal were compressing and adhering to his S1 nerve and that Duntsch had installed the hardware incorrectly. February 22, 2017. But based on documents gathered by the DA, when Duntsch finished his residency, he had operated fewer than 100 times. And its all because of one surgeon named Christopher Duntsch a.k.a. A spill of more than 500,000-gallons of crude oil from the Keystone Pipeline in December in Kansas was caused by a combination of a faulty weld and "bending stress fatigue" on the pipe, the . Glidewell was left with only one vocal cord, permanent damage to his esophagus and partial paralysis on his left side. Every victim deserves to have their story told, and unfortunately, Christopher Duntsch, aka Dr. Death, has 33. Duntsch was suspected of having used cocaine the night before the operation. Now, his time at the university . MISI representatives stated he would brag about his capabilities and be critical of the work of other surgeons. 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. 5 of Dallas County (opinion)", "Texas Court of Appeals Affirms Conviction of 'Dr. The series is set to premiere on July 12 and will feature a star-studded cast. [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". 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. ", "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? Where is Kim Morgan Now? 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. On top of this, he misspelled both Kukekov and Ignatova's names. With Brown still in the ICU, Duntsch took another patient into surgery that morning. Baylor wanted Duntsch operating quickly and often so they could be reimbursed for the monies they had advanced to him. In 2011, Christopher Duntsch met Wendy Young at the Beauty Shop bar in Memphis. The nursing staff put down towels to soak it up. Duntsch had his surgical rights temporarily suspended after his botched surgery on Summers and his first patient back was 55-year-old Kellie Martin. "[20][4] Under heavy lobbying from Kirby and Henderson, the Texas Medical Board suspended Duntsch's license on June 26, 2013. A neurosurgeon in Dallas, Texas, who once described himself as a "stone cold killer" was sentenced to life in prison on February 20 for maiming a woman named Mary . He called Duntsch's fellowship supervisor in Memphis and 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. Film & TV 'Dr. Death' Condemns Christopher Duntsch, but the Real Culprit Is Texas's Broken Health-Care System I helped break the story on the convicted surgeon, but Peacock's dramatized .