A husband and wife pair of Russian stem cell scientists, Valery Kukekov and Tatyana Ignatova entered the picture. [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. Hospitals are liable only if the plaintiff can prove that the hospital was also malicious, that it knew of the risk and ignored it. Dr. Christopher Duntsch had the hallmarks of an impressive neurosurgeon, at least in theory. "[3] A neurosurgery expert for Duntsch's defense team himself said, "The conditions which created Dr.Duntsch still exist, thereby making it possible for another to come along. 'Dr. Death' Series vs. the True Story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch I mean, from talking with Michelle, she listened to all of his prison conversations with his dad for research. The world at large may have never heard of Dr. Death but for Laura Beil. 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. 33 of his 37 surgeries were botched, with two dead and 31 injured for life. 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. Dallas Magazine statesthatDuntsch became key in supplying samples to scientists for research. Hubris? Or did he have an ulterior motive to maim, torture, and even kill some of his patients? Out of his 38 surgeries, only three had no complications. And who will Dr. Death be? [7] While operating on Jacqueline Troy, Duntsch cut one of her vocal cords and an artery and also damaged her trachea. [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. 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 . The statute of limitations made them base their case on only six victims. 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 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., However, Jacksons castmate felt differently. [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. Saul Elbein writes in the Texas Observer that Dr. Hendersonsent him a recording of his complaint to the Texas Medical Board. Out of those surgeries, two patients were killed. Ultimately, Christopher Duntschs legacy will be remembered as one of a doctor who made mistakes which caused irreparable damage to his patients lives. [4] Mayfield died of COVID-19 in February 2021; according to his wife, he had been vulnerable to the virus due to complications caused by Duntsch's botched surgeries. 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. 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. "It was as if the person doing the surgery knew what he was doing but did everything wrong," Dr. 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. You can get access to the first three episodes of Dr. Death with Peacocks free tier. Many ofDuntsch's patient-turned-victims filed malpractice suits, according to Dallas News. Dr. Death - Series Premiere Discussion : r/television - Reddit 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. 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?. She said he was a very long talker and he would call his dad up and have these like two-hour conversations with him. Death, [Wonderys podcast on which the Peacock series is based]. Distractify is a registered trademark. 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? What made him cause damage, trauma and even death to his patients? Yet, instead of saving lives and using his knowledge for good, the opposite happened. The Difference Between Sociopath and Psychopath. Their suffering becomes yours. The original patent still holds, and hopefully, Discgenics would be able to break out of the Dr. Death shadow todo some real anti-cancer work instead. 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. On July 24, 2012, Duntsch operated on Floella Brown, 64, a banker about to retire after a long career. 5 of Dallas County (opinion)", "Texas Court of Appeals Affirms Conviction of 'Dr. [9] Duntsch's defense blamed their client's actions on poor training and lack of oversight by the hospitals. A Surgeon So Bad It Was Criminal ProPublica At any given moment in doing the reporting, I had a different answer. Of course, this is a year where were celebrating doctors and nurses and theyre the heroes of our story. 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. 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. An Analysis of Christopher Duntsch, Dr. [36] On February 20, 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison. His name appeared on several papers and patents, and he took part in a number of biotech startups. After a lengthy investigation by the Texas Medical Board and the Dallas County District Attorneys Office, Dr. Duntsch was arrested on August 19th, 2015 and charged with five counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. But the same law also helps these very hospitals in keeping doctor credentials confidential. While there, he damaged patient Jeff Cheney's spinal cord, leaving him without feeling on the right side of his body. But hospital after hospital passed the buck. Where Is Christopher Duntsch AKA Dr. Death Now? He Got A - Bustle Another patient, 74-year-old Mary Efurd, wokeup from her procedurescreaming in pain and couldnt bear weight on her legs after her surgery. IMDb There are multiple seasons of poor oversight and hospitals who dont necessarily want to deal with the consequences. And there were plenty of other signs as well. It was the same with Dallas Medical Center where hedid not face any action. 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. [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. [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'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. [46], Dr. Death, a TV mini-series based on the podcast, began streaming on Peacock on July 15, 2021. They had discovered stem cells in human brain tumors. 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. There's so much news out there, headlines can slip through the cracks. The Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education has strict rules about residency programs. The story of Duntsch is featured in a new Peacock show titled Dr. Death, unleashing the terrifying reality. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. 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. This could be path-breaking in the future ofcancer treatment andDr. Duntsch sniffed out the opportunity right away. Dr. Death might not have cared about being a surgeon, just the prestige that came with it. He is not eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74 years old. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. The suit alleged that Baylor Plano made an average net profit of $65,000 on every spinal surgery performed by Duntsch. The lead investigator on the case later revealed that she wanted Duntsch's license suspended while the ten-month probe was underway, but board attorneys were not willing to go along. 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. Terry Dubrow and Dr. Paul Nassif are so much more than co-workers. But perhaps more terrifying, the show depicts the chilling real-life story of Dallas-area neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, who. The True Story Behind Peacock's 'Dr. Death' | Time Amphibia Season 2 Now Streaming on Disney+! In 2010, he completed the MDPhD and neurosurgery residency programs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center,[3] and subsequently completed a spine fellowship program at the Semmes-Murphey Clinic in Memphis. He was running research labs and had ambitions of becoming a successful surgeon, but thigs soon took a turn for the worse. Through his career, reports of him doing rounds under the influence were commonplace. 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. ", "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? And professional marketing videos got him ready and willing patients. Thats almost like, Hey, lets just see what happens. So I just dont know.. Brown was left in a coma for hours before Duntsch finally acquiesced to her transfer. There are some who believe that he never wanted to be in the ORat all. When other doctors discovered the sponge, Duntsch refused to return to help remove it. What is the difference between a sociopath and a psychopath? After seeing the damage that Duntsch had done to Glidewell, Randall Kirby and Dr. Robert Henderson were called in to repair the damage. [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]. However, red flags surfaced early on, as nurses wondered if Duntsch was under the influence of drugs while on duty. He also reported shooting pains throughout his body. Copyright 2023 Distractify. Duntsch was granted temporary surgical privileges at Dallas Medical Center, while hospital officials waited for his medical records to arrive from his former post. Whats The Difference Between Dutch And French Braids? Jerry Summers, Duntsch's childhood friend, is now a quadriplegic. Due to the debilitating pain, Fennell later had a second operation by Duntsch to relieve it, and was left significantly paralyzed in his legs. You can also watch all eight episodes of Dr. Death without ads through its third tier Premium Plus plan, which costs $9.99/month. These medical professionals do irreparable harm to their patients. The life in prison sentence was a deathblow to Duntsch, who, according to his father, was now a humbled man who had lost everything. Or was Duntsch just good at hiding his true self? There are a lot of explanations proposed for why the real-life subject of Peacocks Dr. [7], Shughart argued that Duntsch should have known he was likely to hurt others unless he changed his approach, and that his failure to learn from his past mistakes demonstrated that his maiming of Efurd was intentional. 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. This lawsuit was eventually settled out of court in 2013. Duntsch never completed (and barely even started) the rigorous ABNS Certification process. [10][7], Duntsch completed his residency having participated in fewer than 100 surgeries. And you are one of the lucky ones." My take on it is, for him, it was hubris, Jackson mused. Let's delve into what made him tick, and how the medical community failed the victims of Dr. Christopher Daniel Duntsch. Yes, Christopher Duntsch had a medical degree. But as the ultimate betrayal, some doctors violate this code of conduct in the worst possible ways. He has also worked as a radio reporter and holds a degree from Moody College of Communication. 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.
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