A Plano billboard about 'Dr. Death' disappeared hours after it appeared

PLANO — A billboard promoting a podcast about the case of a neurosurgeon who was sentenced to life in prison for knowingly maiming a patient has disappeared.

The billboard went up Thursday morning outside Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Plano, one of the facilities where Dr. Christopher Duntsch operated.

Duntsch earned the nickname "Dr. Death," which is also the name of the podcast, produced by Wondery of West Hollywood, Calif. It's currently the No. 1 podcast distributed by Apple, with 2.3 million listeners.

Hernan Lopez, founder and CEO of Wondery, said Friday that the billboard first appeared early Thursday. But soon after 3 p.m. Thursday, it had been covered up.

Lopez said he learned about the sign's removal from Twitter. He had contracted to pay Clear Channel, the company that manages the billboard, $10,000 for the ad. On Thursday, a Wondery team member received a call from a Clear Channel  representative who said that "people complained" about the sign. Lopez said the representative told the employee that Wondery would not be billed.

Clear Channel did not respond to a request for comment.

Asked about the billboard on Friday, Julie Smith, director of public relations at Baylor Scott & White, said "Baylor Scott & White had nothing to do with the billboard or its apparent modification."

She did confirm a copy of a letter provided by Wondery, written on the stationery of Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Plano and signed by hospital president Jerri Garison. Addressed "Dear Colleagues," it mentions the podcast and the billboard, and acknowledges that Duntsch spent roughly a year on the medical staff of what was then Baylor Regional Medical Center-Plano back in 2011-12.

"Dr. Duntsch, who began his career in North Texas with impressive credentials and glowing recommendations, in the end hurt families, co-workers, and the trust we all hold in physicians," the letter says. "As we have consistently communicated in relation to this matter — our primary concern, as always, is with patients. While this was a tragic situation, out of respect for the patients and families involved we will continue to limit our comments."

Duntsch, 47, who worked at four hospitals over a two-year period. His 2017 trial centered on patient Mary Efurd, who was 74 in 2012 when Duntsch operated on her at Dallas Medical Center. She lost a third of her blood and the full use of her legs but survived.  Duntsch was convicted on a charge of injury to an elderly individual.

During the trial, jurors heard from the husband of Kellie Martin, a 54-year-old Garland schoolteacher who died in 2012 after undergoing back surgery at the Plano hospital.

Duntsch's appeal hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in Dallas.  The Dallas Morning News has reported extensively on the case.

Laura Beil,  an award-winning medical writer formerly with The Dallas Morning News, reports the content of the show and narrates the podcast.