Christopher Duntsch
American neurosurgeon and convicted criminal for malpractice
Christopher Daniel Duntsch (born April 3, 1971) is a former American neurosurgeon who has been nicknamed Dr. Death for general and gross neurosurgical malpractice while working at hospitals in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. He was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 patients in less than two years, resulting in the maiming of 31 patients and the deaths of 2 others. He was allowed to continue practicing because hospital officials and regulators were incredulous that a surgeon could be incompetent to such an apparent degree. His license was finally revoked by the Texas Medical Board in 2013. In 2017, Duntsch was convicted of maiming one of his patients and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Early life
Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana and spent most of his youth in Memphis, Tennessee. His father, Donald, was a physical therapist and Christian missionary, and his mother, Susan, was a schoolteacher. He was the oldest of four children; he has two brothers, Nathan and Matt, and a sister, Liz. Duntsch is a graduate of Evangelical Christian School in Cordova, Tennessee, where he was a football player.
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