Two days after Abby Lee Miller was rushed into emergency surgery for what was initially considered to be a spinal infection, the “Dance Moms” star has received a new preliminary diagnosis of Burkitt lymphoma.
A representative for Dr. Hooman Melamed, who performed Abby Lee’s surgery, confirmed to Access that the TV personality may have the disease, which is a cancer of the lymphatic system. Her pathology results are still pending.
Dr. Melamed first shared news of Abby Lee’s rapid decline in health in a press conference on Tuesday.
“She came to me complaining of excruciating neck pain a few days ago,” Dr. Melamed said. “I had to send her to the emergency room.”
Abby Lee was hurried to Cedars-Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital on Monday night for what Dr. Melamed then perceived to be a dangerous spinal infection.
“Something bad was going to happen if something was not done. We were trying to transfer her, but I knew she may not make it by the time we get to another hospital,” he shared. “She had what appeared to be an infection that went from the bottom of her neck to the 11th vertebrae in the mid-part of the spine. That’s about 13-14 segments. It’s extremely unusual.”
“She was completely, basically paralyzed. If we didn’t do something, she was going to die. Her blood pressure was bottoming out. She was not doing well,” he added.
Abby Lee underwent spinal surgery in the early hours of Tuesday morning. According to Dr. Melamed, Abby Lee’s recovery from the operation is “looking good,” and she has regained movement in her arms, legs and toes. In spite of this progress, the doctor revealed that the star is “not out of the woods yet” and will need to undergo a second spinal surgery.
Dr. Melamed’s rep says the final results of Abby Lee’s pathology test will be known later this week.
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