"The surgeon who said everything looked fine -- now my mother is on dialysis, in decline, and will…read morelikely never recover."
In December 2024, my 82-year-old mother underwent spine surgery by Dr. Vingan, Chief of Spine Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center and a lead physician at North Jersey Brain & Spine. The sequence of events surrounding that procedure is fully documented -- and deeply troubling.
Just eight days before surgery, her ejection fraction (EF) was documented as 37%. Then, without any cardiac intervention, a new echocardiogram appeared listing 51% with the vague comment "looks better." The report was unsigned, missing details on her pacemaker, right ventricle, and lacked any comparison to prior studies.
According to the American Society of Echocardiography, EF measured via Simpson's method has a typical reproducibility of ±5-7%. A 14-point jump--without intervention--is far outside expected variability. When her condition worsened post-op, an independent cardiologist re-tested her EF: it had returned to 37%.
That was only the beginning.
At 5:59 a.m. on the morning of surgery, her labs came back showing a GFR of 17 -- Stage 4 kidney failure. Dr. Vingan was consulted and documented her creatinine and BUN levels in his notes. He conveniently omitted the GFR.
No nephrology consult was documented. Her nephrologist later confirmed -- on video -- that he was never contacted for clearance.
The surgery proceeded.
The EMG ordered to justify the procedure did not test the spinal nerves at the surgical levels. Still, Dr. Vingan implanted a Coflex interlaminar device at L2-3 and L3-4 -- directly above a prior fusion at L4-5. Coflex is contraindicated in patients with osteoporosis, prior fusions, or advanced age. The manufacturer warns of segmental collapse, restenosis, and instability -- all of which were later confirmed in her MRIs.
After surgery, she was discharged. She returned with oxygen saturations as low as 76% and massive pleural effusions -- a life-threatening complication that, if not caught at rehab, would have resulted in respiratory failure. She was readmitted to Hackensack and remained inpatient for 45 days with post-surgical complications.
During that 45-day hospitalization, Dr. Vingan saw her once and said "everything looks good."
He never followed up again.
A post-surgical EMG was performed. Despite numerous requests for the results, the report has never been released. In her MyChart, it appears only as "EMG" -- with the findings section completely blank.
After discharge, she returned to Hackensack ER over ten times with severe burning sensations, intense itching, back pain, and progressively worsening mobility. Eventually, the symptoms were acknowledged as neuropathic in etiology.
Dr. Vingan never saw her once.
Today, she requires a walker with contact-guard assistance indoors, and relies on a wheelchair outside the home.
She is also on dialysis three times per week.
MRIs from Englewood and Holy Name confirm adjacent-level spinal collapse, severe stenosis, and nerve impingement.
When I contacted Dr. Vingan directly about her deterioration, his only response was:
"People are always looking for someone to blame."
This isn't blame.
This is the medical record.
The documentation speaks for itself. Choose carefully.
