Two patients died, one from significant blood loss after the operation and the other from a stroke caused by a cut vertebral artery. A new crime drama called "Dr. Death" is inspired by the true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a Texas surgeon who was said to have intentionally maimed 32 patients during surgery, two of whom. How much do you think that affected Duntschs decision to become a neurosurgeon in the first place? Patrick Macmanus also explains why the show's supporting characters were such a gift. My wife laughs at me all the time about it. Now, a podcast called Dr. Death is breaking down the deranged surgeons criminal acts and shows how drug abuse and blinding overconfidence led to big trouble for the patients who found themselvesunderneath the spiraling doctors knife. Out of his 38 surgeries, only three had no complications. So yes, there are definitely heroes in the story. In 2018, he filed for an appeal which was rejected by the court. Liz Shannon Miller is a Los Angeles-based writer and editor, and has been talking about television on the Internet since the very beginnings of the Internet. (He was later let go from the company over money issues). After several more months of botched surgeries, Duntsch finally lost his surgical privileges altogether in June 2013 after two physicians complained to the Texas Medical Board. Determined to play football for a Division I college team, Duntsch dedicated himself to training while in high school. Those are the words that Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a Dallas neurosurgeon, wrote to his girlfriend in 2011 in the midst of a two-year period that left 33 of his 38 patients maimed, wounded or dead. Stars of 'Tiger King' : Where Are They Now? So we shot the episodes in three different bricks. And then on top of that, you have the systemic side of the medical system that ultimately failed in stopping him. And they have a really compelling sympathetic through-character that you can sort of latch onto the whole time, like in S Town, or Serial. 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 sad fact is that I would go faster do better and catch more respect and honor by f***ing every one in the brain, emotionally and mentally controlling them in a manner that borders on abuse, taking no prisoners, and sending everyone in my way, and especially that f***s with me to hell for the simple fact that they thought they could much less tried, 1 week and then everything unraveled. And the fact that the system failed doesnt absolve him of the responsibility of what he did, and I want to make that clear. "This defendant single-handedly. One of the patients who suffered disastrous consequences was Jerry Summers, the boyfriend of Megan Kane and a friend of Christopher Duntsch. But I think, it is good. So I have to constantly remind myself here that no matter how well-intentioned or well-meaning any doctor or any hospital that I'm interacting with, ultimately they're selling me something. Were there times when you would look at drafts and be like, "Maybe we should pull back on the administrative stuff?" And that disconnect from reality, I found really compelling. Magazines, Digital When he arrived in Dallas in late 2010, Duntsch's resume spoke of a skilled neurosurgeon: An M.D. And that wasnt a manufactured thing. After he arrived in town, he secured a deal with the Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano and was given surgical rights at the hospital. Was that something that he knew? Yeah. I couldve done more, like, the actual surgical details, but listening to it with other people, I could see how youd want to leave some of that out. Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story starts streaming on Peacock Thursday, July 29. My instinct was that the only way, that this man has to be evil, because there has to be a reason why all of this spectacularly bad stuff happened and the simplest and easiest answers he's evil. There isn't a question that there is a larger theme at work in the show, which was ultimately something that drew me to the show, which is that Christopher Duntsch doesn't just wear a black hat. I dont know, but that would be my guess. Hes cutting arteries. The four-part docuseries features old footage and new interviews to tell more of the story about the neurosurgeon who was sentenced to prison after maiming or killing more than 30 patients. Christopher Daniel Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971, and raised alongside his three siblings in an affluent suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. She is also a produced playwright, a host of podcasts, and a repository of "X-Files" trivia. JACKSON: Well, it's not. He's a psychopath. From the very start, before there were any writers and before I'd even written the pilot episode, I had said to the studio that if you are asking me to answer the question of why Christopher Duntsch is the way that he is, I will never give you that answer. While Baylor-Plano conducted an investigation of Duntsch and his cases, and found that he would need to be let go, Duntsch was not technically fired from the hospital. That is a wonderful question. Because that one where he says that, Im God, Einstein, and I do what I want, but also I control things behind the scenes without anyone knowing in the same sentence that just cracked me up. I gathered very quickly that everything that he had accomplished in sports had come with the sweat equity, one old teammate told ProPublica in 2018. I could only go as far back as his Memphis days, so I did go back to Memphis, and I did talk to quite a few people who knew him in high school. Around 2006 and 2007, Duntsch began to become unhinged. Jennifer Morrison, I've actually known for a very long time. One, since the [Mary] Efurd case in the one that eventually goes on trial, I thought it was important to know what happened in that case, so thats one. He stayed in New York while everyone else went home. JACKSON: I mean, I think, leaving aside our show, it means that finally the industry as a whole is starting to redress some of the failures of imagination that have led us into a predominantly male, predominantly white-dominated creative industry. Its those two question combined the lurid, unstoppable search for an ultimate motive, and the more concrete question of how the medical system allowed this to happen and how we can fix it that make listening to Dr. Death feel like youre eating cake and taking your medicine at the same time. Eventually, they indicted Duntsch on five counts of aggravated assault and one count of causing harm to an elderly person. And I didnt need to go into all the gory details. I didnt want to create a two-dimensional villain, and his dad, I think, wouldve provided the most humanizing voice in the story, but the attorney just wouldnt allow it. Dirty John would seem hard to top the story of a psychotic con-man who spent his days playing Counter Strike, posing as a doctor and telling fake war stories. What are the potential pitfalls for you as a reporter? Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. I did talk to as many of his high school friends as I could. Life After "Death": Lethal Surgeon Sentenced to PrisonWATCH NEXT: Attorney who represented Dr. Duntsch's patients discusses her cases (3 of 5) https://youtu.. Was this familiar territory for you? Death': "He Thinks He's the Hero of This Story", 'Dr. By 2013, he had bounced around between hospitals, tarnished his reputation and had his medical license revoked. Did you talk a lot about how gory to make the surgeries? Death' Before 33 Operations Went Wrong, The True Story Behind Hulu's 'Boston Strangler', The Best True Crime Documentaries to Stream Now, Get a First Look at Joshua Jackson, Christian Slater in 'Dr. Was there anything that was particularly hard not to include? And I, as an actor, want to have the ability to work for the whole smorgasbord of humanity as my directors, as my costars, as my writers, because it makes the stories that we're telling more compelling, not less. Death': "He Thinks He's the Hero of This Story", So when it comes to the question of how he was able to get away with it for so long, that involves a lot of breaking down the administrative and legal aspects that keep a doctor like him in a position of doctoring. Their efforts to stop him, as documented both in the podcast and show, take a long time, as Duntsch moves between hospitals and continues injuring patients. So really for us, we're in a place where we're actually conscious of it, but the industry still has time to go. 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 patients who trusted that he would help them get better. They dont want to go participate in any extraneous activities, and he was totally fine going to work.. Of course, a pediatrician couldnt have done as much damage. I mean Duntsch could very easily just have been the black hat bad guy. Joshua Jackson on Playing 'Dr. I have 1M in debt, 10M invested, and 22 years of pain in misery already on the table", 2. We're certainly not there yet. And by not stopping a narcissistic sociopath, you're encouraging a narcissistic sociopath. From a creative standpoint, what is so unfortunate about the fact that you need to ask that question, and it's a totally valid question is, one would have hoped that we would have always understood that the more diverse and the better quality voices that we have in telling stories, the better the industry is as a whole. Im really appreciative to the producers for even entertaining the discussions with me as much as they did, because lets be honest, I dont know anything about making a podcast. After this, life for Duntsch fell apart. Thats why we have these hours and hours of tape, but that said, there are a few fundamentals that were wrong. Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, and director Rob Marshall share the tale behind making their underwater musical with a groundbreaking Disney princess. When we are alone, my love for you will let you do so because that is your nature. She was a National . You did have a crusading whistleblower character in there. I realized what he really had to offer. In America, health is a service. Death' Based on a Shocking True Story, Joshua Jackson Becomes a Dangerous 'Sociopath' Surgeon in 'Dr. Christophers late childhood best friend added: Chris was very intrigued with a lot of the stuff going on in my life. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. And so, I think if you translate that to his desire to always want to be on top and to always want to be the most prestigious, I would guess that, that had probably more to do with it than the money. Duntsch, 44, is being held in the Dallas County Jail on $600,000 bail on charges involving the death of one patient. 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Before going to medical school, Duntsch wanted to be a pro-football player. By signing up you agree to ourTerms of ServiceandPrivacy Policy. For months, they stopped getting reports about messed up operations and thought theyd found success. And also, I knew that I was dealing with a story that probably half the listeners from the first episode were going to Google and find out the end. I don't think anybody but Christopher Duntsch can answer that question. Dr. Death is not a show that you should consider watching right before your next trip to the doctor's office. "You were a major in a military organization, and that is the only reason you can have a slight inkling of the manner in which I want you to treat me and respect me". I didnt take them as funny, I took them as really creepy though. I believe that it was an outgrowth of the fact that by the time these administrations caught up with what he was doing, they had already moved him on. Plenty, plenty, plenty, plenty. You can't justit doesn't come out wholly formed. Right? In the doc, Jerry, who died in February from an infection connected to the botched surgery Christopher performed on him in 2011, gave an interview about their friendship and the operation that eventually led to his death. Right? I can't think of a more enormous responsibility than trying to find an actor to play that role. Probably with any medical story, really, you want to be most careful with the patients themselves. Yeah, I do, and theres another one that comes in later. I was gifted the opportunity to tell it. 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 Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Duntsch declined a reporter's request for a jailhouse interview Tuesday. He graduated from a top-tier medical school, was running research labs, and completed a residency program for neurosurgery. That it needs to be noted that like, well, you can only give these ladies so many slots. Scheduling just got in the way there. So we were bouncing around quite a lot. And I had none of those things. In terms of the production, were you shooting at all chronologically or was itwere you kind of bouncing between time periods? Of course, podcast producers are subject to the same profit motive that helped facilitate a guy like Duntsch, but to their credit, Wonderys producers seem to have realized that a story like Dr. Deaths needed to be built on a foundation of solid reporting. Before working with him, Dr. Hoyle said that he didnt know how to feel about his fellow surgeon. And so, he was an attractive hire. And even after he eventually lost that appeal, the train had already left the station. You have reached your limit of free articles. 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. The former American neurosurgeon was convicted for gross malpractice of maiming . And that was a revolutionary act. Heres what to know about Duntsch, what he did and how he was eventually stopped. Christopher Duntsch gave me my first hit of acid.. Right? You had people that could barely move. ProPublica reports that Duntsch resigned voluntarily in April 2012. Kyler Alvord leads PEOPLE's politics coverage as a news editor for the brand. [We wanted to profile] enough patients where it was established what he did and the pain he caused, but there was also a danger the only way I know to describe it is a sort of victim fatigue. The rambling, four-page email,sent Dec. 9, 2011, to an employee with whom Duntsch had a "personal relationship," has been submitted as evidence in Duntsch's criminal case. And created all sorts of discussion and blowback inside the industry. The value of the institutions was placed above the value of the patients. Its just that I figured the listeners would sort of get it, that he was really bad, and he ruined a lot of peoples lives. And that's frankly what I found so compelling about the character is that it's not easy. So, we've taken steps and that's good, but I think it's a totally valid thing to ask because we're not there yet. Death' Review: Joshua Jackson Is Terrific in Terrifying Peacock Series That's as Sharp as a Scalpel. That would be my guess. While the state of modern journalism can often seem pretty dire, investigative, serialized podcast series stand out as one of todays few bright spots, one of the last places you can still find people willing to pay for good reporting. And that was just one case from Baylor-Plano. The show was Dr. Death, from Wondery, the same podcast production company that brought us Dirty John, last years thoroughly addictive series about a stalker/con artist who inserted himself into one Orange County family and nearly tore them apart. The legal system will protect themselves. The nightmare at the center of Dr. Death, a new Peacock drama inspired by the 2018 true crime podcast of the same name from Wondery, involves a surgeon who seems intent on using his scalpel to destroy the lives of his patientsand a medical system content to let him skate by. One thing I learned is that there are a lot fewer details if youre asking people to hold the story in their heads. In July, he performed an operation on a woman who lost a tremendous amount of blood and lost consciousness upon waking up after surgery. Dr. Death in surgery. I'm going to answer it in a couple of different ways. But the meta statement of "my gosh, a show can be shot by three women, who knew" we were 75 years past the place of thinking "can three men shoot a show all by themselves?" He's doing it on purpose. Left: Christopher Duntsch in surgery, Right: Christopher Duntschs mugshot. I would say that he and I both were cokeheads. And that's only four years ago. The first operation he conducted in this capacity was to fix a womans compressed nerveduring the surgery, he cut an important vessel in the womans spinal cord and she bled to death. But on the other hand, they knew you had to have certain sounds to make the experience really real for people, and really immersive. His very first operation at the hospital would once again turn deadly. Collider: And I wanted to start off just by kind of asking, there's so much of the character that you're playing, especially given that it's based on a real person, and I was wondering, what was key for you in terms of unlocking how to approach it? I limited myself to those emails that were produced as evidence in the trial, because the D.A. We would be lauding him for what he was doing because to this day, several of his patents are still being used in the use of stem cells and neurosurgery. The good news is, is we had thousands of pages of research, thousands of pages of court documents, tons of hours of interviews. So, while I wish that the administrations acted sooner, at the end of the day, and this is something that I've said for quite a bit now, Christopher Duntsch deserves to be in jail for the rest of his life, because how he acted was completely inhuman and any human that had that ability to feel would have stopped after the first or second surgeries. Two patients died from his actions and many more suffered permanent injuries, including his best friend, who left Duntsch's operating room paralyzed. The series tells the story of Christopher Duntsch, a doctor who maimed and killed people during surgeries at hospitals across Texas. You had people in walkers. Duntschs substance abuse was brought to the attention of the University of Tennessee following an anonymous complaint that he was doing drugs before work. Dr. Death in surgery. Philip Mayfield, one of Christopher Duntsch's patients, who was paralyzed after his surgery. I needed to establish its not just that he was a little bit bad, he was horrible. Theres a lot of attorneys not allowing things in this story it seems like.
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