But the real tragedy of the Christopher Duntsch story is how preventable it was. According to ProPublica, most neurosurgery residents perform 1,000 operations; Duntsch completed 100. The first three surgeries of Duntschs trial took place on three consecutive days in July 2012, a month after the first complaint against him with the Texas Medical Board. His mistakes were obvious and well-documented. But as in many other areas in Texasbenzene pollution from hydraulic fracturing sites; ammonium nitrate pileups at fertilizer plantsMartins death and Summers paralysis fell into a regulatory no mans land. A dissection of an esophagus led to significant blood loss in one patient. When he arrived in Dallas in late 2010, Duntsch's resume spoke of a skilled neurosurgeon: An M.D. The Legislature has also made suing hospitals difficult. Not only shouldnt he be operating, he shouldnt be making any decisions about treatment or pathology. It had no effect whatsoever.. A Texas neurosurgeon accused of intentionally botching multiple spinal surgeries, resulting in the death of two . Until the day of the suspension, if you had looked Duntsch up on the Texas Medical Board website, you would have found him a physician in good standing. "After building a flourishing neurosurgery practice, everything suddenly changes when patients entering Dr. Duntsch's operating room for complex but routine spinal surgeries start leaving permanently disabled or dead. 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. I had so much anger, because my life changed so much. Instead, she awoke in searing pain, which she likened to child birth, per D Magazine. The temporary suspension was a power the Legislature gave the board in 2003. Many of them had committed serious practice violations. (Like other state licensing agenciesthe Pharmacy Board, the Nurse Practitioner Boardthe Medical Board operates at a surplus for the state.). What all this means is that the Texas Legislature has committed the state to a policy of medical deregulationa free-market system in which doctors can practice as they please with limited government interference. We moved in together within three months, and then I became pregnant.. Photos, illustrations and other art may be available for syndication but must be confirmed. He was very eloquent in stating the causes and the need for the procedure. It would clearly be a policy decision for the Legislature to consider whether the process or the standards for evidence required for a temporary suspension need to change., Leigh Hopper, formerly the Medical Board spokesperson, put it more bluntly. He felt confident. Don Martin, who was waiting outside, was told the operation wouldnt take more than 45 minutes. Given the graphic subject matter, if you're squeamish, keep your finger on the "fast forward" button while watching Dr. Death. But as investigators took a look back at Christopher's history and consulted with those who knew him, what they discovered was quite disturbing. Death Showrunner Breaks Down Turning Hit Podcast Into New Drama Series On Peacock, (And if you want to dive even deeper into the story, you can also watch the new docuseries, on Peacock, which features interviews with numerous people intimately involved in the case. 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.". The hospital conducted an initial background check on Duntsch, and he came up clean. At first, Henderson thought Duntsch might be an impostor. Because he owed people a lot of money. The pair met in 2011 at a Memphis bar, known as the Beauty Shop, according toa 2016D Magazineprofile of Duntschs scandalous medical career. The series is based on reporting from the podcast Dr. Death, from the same production studio that created Dirty John. "We were told Duntsch was one of the best and smartest neurosurgeons they ever trained, as they went on at length about his strengths," representatives from Baylor Regional Medical Center told Pro Publica in an email. He was a genius, Ellison said,adding that Morgan initially felt she had found the one.. But Baylor didnt hold him to that. Over the course of 2012 and 2013, even as the Texas Medical Board and the hospitals he worked with received repeated complaints from a half-dozen doctors and lawyers begging them to take action, Duntsch continued to practice medicine. Competing on home soil, Zverev lost 7-6 (7/ . At the time, Duntsch had been fielding offers in Dallas, SanDiegoand New York from medical centers eager to have a neurosurgeon with hisseeminglyimpressive resume on staff. Duntsch was arrested in July 2015. More than a year had passed since Kellie Martins death and the complaint that started it all. .css-1omz5nv{background-color:#E61957;border-radius:50rem;color:#000;display:inline-block;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:0.8125rem;font-weight:bold;letter-spacing:0.02em;line-height:1.3;padding:0.625rem 1.25rem;text-align:center;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-transform:uppercase;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;width:auto;}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1omz5nv{min-width:7.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-1omz5nv{min-width:11.25rem;}}.css-1omz5nv:focus-visible{outline-color:body-cta-btn-link-focus;}.css-1omz5nv:hover{color:#fff;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;background-color:#9D002F;}Watch Dr. Death. They used phrases like the worst surgeon Ive ever seen. One doctor I spoke with, brought in to repair one of Duntschs spinal fusion cases, remarked that it seemed Duntsch had learned everything perfectly just so he could do the opposite. Hospitals can get all of the benefit of an expensive surgeon practicing in their facility and little of the exposure. So why didnt he stop? Shughart said. Dr. Robert Henderson, a Dallas-based orthopedic surgeon who worked to alert authorities about Duntsch, had his own take. Doctors, and then, later, lawyers would call the boards investigators and sometimes even the board members themselves, begging them to do something. In February 2013, for unclear reasons, the board took his license. Young is portrayed in the dramatized series by actress Molly Griggs, who brings to life the couples volatile arguments, including onedepiction in whichYoung announcesshe is pregnant just months into their relationship to a less-than-thrilled Duntsch, played by former Dawsons Creek star Joshua Jackson. If you support this mission, we need your help. Melinda Lehmann, his defense attorney, said Duntsch was a scapegoat for a medical establishment that just kept hiring him and putting him in operating rooms. Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story: This article was originally published by the, Articles cannot be rewritten, edited or changed beyond alignments with house style books. Neither hospital would talk about Duntsch for this story. Up until 2003, medical care in Texas was regulated by a system of checks. are both available to stream on Peacock now. "He was interpersonally a monster, a nightmare to be around. Physicians who complained about Duntsch to the Texas Medical Board and to the hospitals he worked at described his practice in superlative terms. Promising Beginnings Christopher Daniel Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971, and raised alongside his three siblings in an affluent suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. And the words that his patients and their families desperately wanted to hear. Next week marks the five-year anniversary of Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch being sentenced to life in prison. Jurors also heard from doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who testified theywere shocked by what they saw Duntsch do during and after those surgeries. He sounded impressive, Don said. [2] The division consists of two tiers within it: Premier Division A and Premier Division B. And still it took the Texas Medical Board more than a year to stop Duntscha year in which he kept bringing into the operating room patients who ended up seriously injured or dead. I left with him and believed in him and then, you know, he just kind of fell apart., Duntschs disturbing fall from grace is also chronicled in the new Peacock seriesDr. His mom was a teacher. She was 55 and had been experiencing persistent back pain after a fall at home. It was widely acknowledged that Christopher was a confident person, and D Magazine reported that many liked him immediately when they met him (though his fellow neurosurgeons reportedly found him to be "fast-talking and cocksure"). One patient had a stroke following a chelation therapy. The. He went to the operating room and asked to speak to the doctor. The protections make some sense. In 2012, the public interest research group Public Citizen commissioned a research project to cross-reference doctors sanctioned by the Texas Medical Board with those listed in the National Practitioner Databank, managed by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Do you think free access to journalism like this is important? Duntsch's trial took place in 2017. The eight-part series tells the harrowing true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch who, across. I dont know what it is," she said on CNBC's American Greed. The eight-episode series is anticipated to be a thrilling watch. (So far only Mary Efurd and the family of Floella Brown have filed suit against Duntsch, though the other patients or their families have all retained counsel as well.). "The nerve root had been severed. "I think its going to be like a floodgate thats going to really open, crying. In November 2011 he was granted surgical privileges at Baylor Regional Medical Center of Plano. The investigator, Maria Lopez, lets him yell. "Rather than protecting the public from harm, Baylor allowed him [Duntsch] to be passed on from hospital to hospital," Van Wey told the Dallas News. Things were rough during the state budget crisis in 2011, but now hiring is back up to normal. Death.. Office manager B.J. You know in the beginning he talked about marriage. Henderson says that Duntsch told the Dallas Medical Center administration about the Martin and Summers cases, but explained that the outcomes hadnt been his fault: Summers, he said, had been paralyzed by a bad drug interaction, and Martin had died because of complications from anesthesia. For 33 patients of Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, it was a reality. Further, both works question Duntsch's perspective. The one-time neurosurgeon was sentenced by the 12-member jury to spend the remainder of his life behind bars Monday afternoon. The surgery, he said, beaming into the camera, was a resounding success. Two days later, once Efurd was stable, Henderson was assigned to do the repair surgery. He chose Dallas after learning that Young had family near thecityand she offered to go with him. As she lay dying, Duntsch performed his third surgery, on a woman named Mary Efurd. Before we ask if the board does its job, we have to ask what is the job the Legislature assigned to the board, and what resources the board gets to do that job. He was friendly, and we had good conversation. This is what I wanted, she said. Young was soon pregnantbut Duntsch had already developed a wandering eye. Martins surgery was Duntschs last at Baylor.
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