Patient crippled by Dr Death ‘guarantees’ there are other surgeons who get away with murder

Patient who was barely able to walk and was in constant pain after undergoing two botched surgeries at the hands of killer neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch says he “guarantees” that there are other doctors like him allowed to walk away. shoot with murder as a result of woefully inadequate medical regulation.

Kenneth Fennell, 78, remained temporarily paralyzed and permanently disabled after Duntsch AKA Dr. Death operated on him in 2011 – but shockingly he is considered one of the killer surgeon’s luckiest patients.

The neurosurgeon has been accused of killing or mutilating 33 patients in just two years – and is now serving a life sentence for botching a woman’s surgery so badly that he left her paralyzed and in a state of death. excruciating pain.

His gruesome crimes are now recounted in the new Peacock Dr. Death series, which sees Joshua Jackson playing the role of Duntsch. Based on a podcast of the same name, the eight-part series has already horrified viewers since its premiere Thursday, leaving many wondering how Duntsch got away with such horrific malpractice for so long.

Following his outing, Fennell spoke to The Daily Beast about his own experiences with Dr Death, while insisting that there are other surgeons, just like Duntsch, who get away with the murder – literally – because hospitals are not functioning properly. deal with reports of professional misconduct.

The TV show and podcast tell the sordid tale of how Duntsch managed to become a neurosurgeon despite questionable training and an alleged cocaine habit during his residency and career.

In July 2011, he started working at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Plano, where he is accused of severely mutilating and even killing several patients.

One was left in a wheelchair with loss of function along the left side of his body after bone fragments in his spinal canal, while another, while another died after severing a major artery in her spine, but continued to operate despite losing blood. A third suffered from a serious infection when Duntsch left a surgical sponge in his neck.

One of his victims was a friend who became quadriplegic and died of complications earlier this year. However, bad result after bad result, Duntsch continued to operate on patients.

Kenneth Fennell, 78, was also among the victims of Dr Death. In November 2011, he had surgery for a back pain and Duntsch told him everything had gone well, although he would later find out that the doctor had operated on the wrong part of his back.

“He said everything had gone well, that it was working,” he told the WFAA.

Naturally, Fennell’s pain did not go away, so he returned to Duntsch in January 2013, only to find he was no longer in the same hospital.

When he asked his insurance company why, he was told Duntsch was still in good standing, so Fennell followed him to Dallas Medical Center for another surgery.

“If we had known this was all happening, I certainly wouldn’t have let him operate again,” he said.

The failure of the second surgery was more immediately evident. Duntsch had removed part of Fennell’s femoral nerve, leaving him paralyzed from waist to toe when he woke up from the anesthesia.

“I came out of that second surgery and I was paralyzed from the waist down and felt like a bonfire was burning all over me, on my legs,” Fennell said.

He would eventually regain some mobility using a cane after months of rehabilitation, but could only walk about 30 feet or stand for a few minutes at a time. He is in constant pain, describing the sensation as a tight withers sensation on his leg.

Speaking to The Daily Beast, Fennell argues that the second catastrophic surgery should never have happened – and could have been avoided had there been a proper malpractice reporting system in place, including notifying the companies insurance of the reasons why a physician’s privileges were revoked.

Duntsch was able to move to five different medical centers in the Dallas area, leaving destruction in its wake with no responsibility whatsoever.

“Part of what it took here with the Texas Medical Board were doctors personally calling, going down and seeing the board members trying to get [Duntsch] stopped. It took them two years to do it, ”he said.

Duntsch’s license was revoked in December 2013. Two years later he was charged with five counts of aggravated assault and later convicted of only one for leaving patient Mary Efurd in a wheelchair.

“If it hadn’t been so long, I wouldn’t have my second operation with him because he was still receiving glowing reports in January 2013,” he lamented.

“I wouldn’t have had my second operation with him and I wouldn’t have become almost paraplegic.”

Without adequate systems in place to catch unskilled and dangerous medics, Fennell said, there will certainly be others like Duntsch who have yet to be held accountable.

‘I guarantee that there has been [Duntsches] in the past and I guarantee that there is [Duntsches] right now, ”he said.