Abbott Takes $350K, Argues Against Texas Patients

Today, the Dallas Morning News detailed how Greg Abbott intervened in an ongoing lawsuit to argue against patients who were horribly maimed or killed by incompetent, drug-abusing doctor, Christopher Duntsch. Abbott joined the case after receiving $350,000 in campaign contributions from the Board Chairman of Baylor Regional Medical Center, which is the hospital named in the suit. Baylor Hospital authorized Duntsch to perform surgery even after hospital officials were made aware of his illegal drug use and had suspended his surgery privileges previously.

Dallas Morning News reporter Wayne Slater carefully and accurately lays out that Abbott joined the law suit only after accepting the huge campaign contributions. However, the story does not recount the horrible damage done to the Texans that Abbott is arguing against in court.

Below are excerpts from earlier news reports detailing the harm done to the patients Greg Abbott has weighed in against:

• On December 30, 2011 Dr. Christopher Duntsch operated on Lee Passmore of Plano. In his suit, Passmore claims that Duntsch “misplaced the surgical hardware in Passmore’s spine…He’s now in chronic pain that is much worse than before.” This was just the first in a long line of procedures that went very wrong and caused permanent damage to a patient.
   
• Two weeks later in a surgery, the assisting doctor, Randall Kirby claimed that as Duntsch began to operate, Kirby was “in disbelief. ‘Dr. Duntsch’s performance was pathetic on what should have been a fairly easy case,” the patient later had to undergo a second corrective surgery.
   
• One case is particularly troubling as he [Duntsch] operated on childhood friend and roommate Jerry Summers. The Dallas Morning News writes that Summers claimed that “Duntsch had been doing “eight-balls” — slang for 3.5 grams — of cocaine the night before the surgery.” The result of the surgery was even more disastrous as long-time friend Summers would become a quadriplegic as a result of Duntsch’s incompetence.
   
• After being briefly suspended by Baylor, Duntsch would return to operating and the results continued to be disastrous. In 2012 he operated on Kellie Martin, a school teacher, for a herniated disk. “The surgery went perfect,” Duntsch said. Immediately afterward, “she looked good, she sounded good, she felt good.” But her blood pressure began dropping and she had trouble breathing. Within three hours, the mother of two was pronounced dead.”
   
• Even after changing hospitals, Duntsch would continue to maim and kill patients. Floella Brown had a disc removal and fusion procedure. Though there were no immediate complications, doctors alerted Duntsch that Brown was dying. Duntsch demanded to perform a craniotomy on Brown; the hospital would not allow the procedure because they did not have the proper tools. Duntsch responded by saying, “‘The truth is, a craniotomy can be done with the same instruments you use on the spine. … I’ve done hundreds and hundreds.” The hospital refused to allow the surgery, Brown was transferred, and eventually died.
   
• As Duntsch was pushing for hospital administrators to perform a surgery with improper equipment, patient Mary Efurd became his next victim. He became so “rattled” that he placed a screw into Efurd in the wrong spot. The surgery was so poorly done that Dr. Robert Henderson believed Duntsch could not have been an actual doctor.
   
• In his final surgery in Texas, Duntsch performed a cervical fusion on Jeffrey Glidewell. Duntsch found “a large tissue mass in the man’s neck, and heavy bleeding. Duntsch said he had no choice but to call off the procedure and suture the surgical incision.” In calling off the procedure, Duntsch left a sponge in Glidewell and he developed an infection.