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Christopher Duntsch

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Christopher Daniel Duntsch
Born (1971-04-03) April 3, 1971 (age 53)
Alma materUniversity of Tennessee Health Science Center
OccupationNeurosurgeon
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment

Christopher Daniel Duntsch (born April 3, 1971)[1] is a neurosurgeon who has been nicknamed Dr. D. and Dr. Death[2] for gross malpractice resulting in the death and maiming of several patients while working at Baylor Plano and Dallas Medical Center.[3] Duntsch was convicted of various crimes on February 20, 2017, and sentenced to life in prison.

Education

Duntsch did his MD and neurosurgery residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center,[3] and subsequently was an assistant professor there.[4]

Career

Duntsch then moved to Dallas to work at Baylor Plano. After several botched surgeries, he left for Dallas Medical Center, where he was employed for less than a week before he was dismissed by administrators after the death of another patient.[4] There is no information available indicating what investigation the state licensing agency did, or if the hospital notified the Texas Medical Board.

According to court documents, he was suspected of being under the influence of cocaine while operating during his fourth year of residency. He was sent to an impaired physicians program and then he was allowed to return to his residency program.[5]

Duntsch began operating in Texas in 2010 and his medical license was revoked in 2013.[6] He was accused and later convicted of maiming four patients and killing two others.[7]

In December 2011, according to court proceedings, he emailed a colleague, saying "I am 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."[8]

Medical license revocation and criminal conviction

In 2017, he was convicted of a first degree felony in the maiming of Mary Efurd during a spinal fusion surgery.[9][5]

He had drilled a screw into Efurd's spinal cavity, placed implants into muscle instead of on bone, and completely amputated an entire spinal nerve root. "It's as egregious as you can imagine," said Dr. Robert Henderson, the surgeon who was called on to perform emergency rescue surgery on Efurd after she had been maimed by Duntsch. Now 79, Efurd can stand for only 10 minutes at a time and spends most of her days in a wheelchair.

Life imprisonment

On February 20, 2017, Christopher Duntsch was sentenced to life in prison.[10][11] His defense blamed poor training and control by the hospitals.[12]

All the four hospitals that employed Duntsch have an ongoing civil case against them.[12]

Reactions

The conviction of Duntsch was one of the first prison sentences given for malpractice, and has been called a precedent-setting case.[13] The office of the district attorney prosecuting the case called it "an historic case with respect to prosecuting a doctor who had done wrong during surgery".[14]

The director of neurosurgery at UT Southwestern, Carlos Bagley, testifying for the defense, said that “the only way this happens is that the entire system fails the patients."[3]

In pop culture

On September 4, 2018, the podcast production company Wondery Media launched the 6-episode series Dr. Death, which was written, produced, and hosted by reporter Laura Beil. The show debuted at #1 on Apple Podcasts.[15][16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Christopher Duntsch Indictments". Scribd.com. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  2. ^ Goodman, Matt (November 2016). "Dr. Death - D Magazine". D Magazine. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
  3. ^ a b c Eiserer, Tanya (February 13, 2017). "Dr. Duntsch defense expert: "The only way this happens is the entire system fails the patients"". WFAA. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Swanson, Doug J. (March 1, 2014). "Plano's Baylor hospital faces hard questions after claims against former neurosurgeon". Dallas News. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Barry Morguloff's suit against the Baylor Health Care System" (PDF). The Texas Observer. March 25, 2014. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  6. ^ Martin, Naomi (August 21, 2015). "Surgeon who wrote of becoming killer is denied bail reduction". Dallas News. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  7. ^ "Former Neurosurgeon Faces Life In Prison After Guilty Verdict". CBS Dallas / Fort Worth. February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  8. ^ Emily, Jennifer (February 7, 2017). "Man testifies friend left him a quadriplegic". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved February 22, 2017 – via PressReader.
  9. ^ Andrews, Travis M. (February 16, 2017). "Texas neurosurgeon nicknamed 'Dr. Death' found guilty of maiming woman during surgery," The Washington Post, retrieved February 21, 2017.
  10. ^ "Former neurosurgeon sentenced for purposely maiming patients," CBS News, February 21, 2017, retrieved February 21, 2017.
  11. ^ Eiserer, Tanya (February 21, 2017). "Doctor convicted of botched surgery gets life in prison," USA Today, retrieved February 21, 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Former neurosurgeon sentenced for purposely maiming patients". CBS News. 2017-02-21. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  13. ^ "Texas Jury Imposes Life Sentence on Neurosurgeon | The Daily Voice". Thedailyvoicenews.com. 2017-02-21. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  14. ^ "Former neurosurgeon sentenced for purposely maiming patients". CBS News. 2017-02-21. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  15. ^ Rolling Stone Dr. Death Feature
  16. ^ [https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d3emaj/dr-death-podcast-christopher-duntsch-killer-surgeon Vice Dr. Death Feature
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