Christopher Duntsch
American former neurosurgeon convicted of criminal malpractice
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| 2021 | Duntsch's criminal activity is profiled in the television series American Greed episode 'The Real Dr. Death'. |
| 2021 | Jerry Summers dies of an infection related to complications from Duntsch's operation. |
| July 29 2021 | A follow-up docuseries, Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story, is released on Peacock, featuring interviews with Duntsch's patients, colleagues, and key figures involved in his case. |
| July 15 2021 | Dr. Death, an eight-episode TV mini-series about Christopher Duntsch, begins streaming on Peacock, starring Joshua Jackson as Duntsch. |
| February 2021 | Philip Mayfield died of COVID-19, with his wife stating his vulnerability was due to complications from Duntsch's surgical damage. |
| 2019 | Duntsch is the focus of the premiere episode of License to Kill, an Oxygen series about criminal medical professionals. |
| May 8 2019 | The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused Duntsch's petition for discretionary review, effectively upholding his life sentence. |
| December 10 2018 | The Texas Court of Appeals affirmed Duntsch's conviction in a 2-1 split decision. |
| February 20 2017 | Duntsch was convicted and sentenced to life in prison after a thirteen-day trial, with the jury taking only four hours to find him guilty of maiming Jerry Efurd. |
| 2015 | Duntsch's medical license is revoked by the Texas Medical Board after a pattern of gross neurosurgical malpractice affecting 33 patients. |
| 2015 | As the statute of limitations was about to expire, prosecutors began a serious investigation into Duntsch's medical malpractice, interviewing dozens of patients and survivors to build a criminal case. |
| 2015 | Christopher Duntsch was convicted and sentenced to prison for his medical malpractice, specifically receiving a life sentence for intentionally maiming patients during spinal surgeries. |
| July 2015 | Christopher Duntsch was arrested in Dallas and charged with multiple felony counts, including six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, five counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, and one count of injury to an elderly person. |
| September 2014 | Broke up with Wendy Renee Young just before the birth of their second son. |
| March 2014 | Three former patients (Mary Efurd, Kenneth Fennel, and Lee Passmore) filed separate federal lawsuits against Baylor Plano, alleging the hospital knowingly allowed Duntsch to perform surgeries despite being a dangerous physician. |
| 2013 | Duntsch performed a neck vertebrae fusion on his longtime friend Jerry Summers, rendering him a quadriplegic. A second surgery with excessive gel foam further constricted Summers' spinal cord. |
| 2013 | Baylor Plano permanently revoked Duntsch's surgical privileges after finding he failed to meet their standards of care. Duntsch resigned before a potential termination, negotiating a letter that would not report him to the National Practitioner Data Bank. |
| 2013 | During a routine decompression surgery on Kellie Martin, Duntsch cut through her spinal cord and severed an artery, leading to her death by hemorrhagic cardiac arrest. |
| 2013 | After license revocation, Duntsch moved to Denver, Colorado and began experiencing significant personal difficulties, including declaring bankruptcy with over $1 million in debts. |
| December 6 2013 | The Texas Medical Board officially revoked Christopher Duntsch's medical license after a ten-month investigation revealed a pattern of patient injuries and extreme surgical incompetence. |
| June 26 2013 | The Texas Medical Board suspended Christopher Duntsch's medical license following a detailed complaint by Dr. Robert Henderson and Dr. Philip Kirby, who described Duntsch as a 'sociopath' and a danger to patients. |
| 2012 | During a surgery on Barry Morguloff, Duntsch left bone fragments in the spinal canal, rendering the patient wheelchair-bound and losing most function on his left side. |
| 2012 | Duntsch performed a devastating surgery on Lee Passmore, causing chronic pain and limited mobility by cutting a ligament, misplacing spinal hardware, and incorrectly placing a screw that could have caused fatal bleeding. |
| 2011 | Christopher Duntsch begins working at Baylor Plano hospital, where he immediately makes a poor impression on fellow surgeons with boastful claims about his surgical abilities and demonstrably poor surgical skills. |
| 2011 | Kenneth Fennell becomes Duntsch's first patient at Baylor Plano, undergoing a back surgery that leaves him with chronic pain and a subsequent operation that results in leg paralysis, requiring months of rehabilitation. |
| 2011 | Met Wendy Renee Young, an exotic dancer, at a Memphis strip club, who subsequently moved in with him. |
| December 2011 | Duntsch wrote an incriminating email boasting about becoming a 'cold-blooded killer', which later became crucial evidence in the criminal prosecution against him. |
| 2010 | Joined Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano as a minimally invasive spine surgeon, securing a high-salary position of $600,000 per year plus bonuses. |
| 2010 | Christopher Duntsch moved to Dallas, Texas to pursue a career in neurosurgery, bringing his partner Young with him from his previous location. |
| 2010 | Completed MD-PhD and neurosurgery residency programs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, followed by a spine fellowship at the Semmes-Murphey Clinic in Memphis. |
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