What type of surgery did Abby Lee Miller undergo in 2020? Dance Mom star's lawsuit against Cedars-Sinai hospital explored

Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller is accusing a Los Angeles hospital of medical malpractice. On Tuesday, June 3, 2025, the reality TV star sued Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and two doctors, alleging they left a foreign object in her body after performing surgery.

According to TMZ, which first reported the news, the lawsuit stemmed from a life-saving spinal surgery Miller underwent in 2020. Per the outlet, while the surgery was successful, Abby soon began suffering from abdominal pain and discomfort. Despite informing multiple medical professionals, including the two doctors who performed the operation, she reportedly was ignored.

Citing the lawsuit, People magazine reported on June 4, 2025, that it wasn't until June 2024 that a CT scan reportedly revealed the presence of a "foreign object." After undergoing an "emergency procedure," they found that the item was a "retained catheter" from a prior surgery.

Abby Lee Miller is suing the hospital and her doctors for medical negligence, professional negligence, medical battery, and more. She is seeking $1.4 million in damages.

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Abby Lee Miller stated that her discomfort from the surgery became debilitating by March 2024

In her lawsuit, Abby Lee Miller explained that following the aforementioned surgery in 2020, she informed her medical team of her discomfort. However, they dismissed her without "imaging" or any "diagnosis" of the source of pain, reported NBC News.

The civil complaint elaborated that by March 2024, the discomfort had escalated into "persistent and debilitating pain" that impacted her daily life. Around that time, she went to a different hospital for an unrelated issue. The medical team there referred her to the ER for the pain. Two days later (in June 2024), a CT scan revealed she had a right blue catheter inside her that needed to be surgically removed.

According to People magazine, Abby Lee Miller's lawsuit began by citing a statistical estimate that "1 in every 5,500 surgeries" results in a patient with a "retained surgical object." The legal document defined it as a "foreign material accidentally left inside a patient's body during surgery."

In a statement made to People magazine, Miller's attorney, Nadine Lewis, explained:

"Abby Lee Miller suffered for years from an object left inside of her during her spinal surgery; despite complaints to various physicians, not one ordered imaging of any kind to diagnose the source of her pain."

Lewis asserted that they "systemically dismissed" her client's pain, resulting in years-long suffering. She noted that this was exacerbated as Miller is paraplegic and has been confined to a wheelchair. According to People magazine, in 2018, Abby Lee Miller's doctors thought she had a severe spinal infection. However, it was later diagnosed as Burkitt lymphoma.

At the time (2018), her doctor, Dr. Hooman M. Melamed, who is named in the lawsuit, told the outlet:

"We’re getting an oncologist involved, and we have to figure out what the next steps are as far as chemotherapy or radiation or more spine surgery."

Further, in a separate statement made to NBC News, Lewis noted that Abby Lee Miller's case was more than just "medical battery." It reflected a larger issue prevalent in the medical industry of "women's pain" being "ignored or dismissed."

In a statement made to TMZ, the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center declined to comment on the lawsuit owing to patient confidentiality, stating:

"Cedars-Sinai cannot comment on pending legal matters. Also, due to federal and state privacy laws, Cedars-Sinai cannot discuss any patient’s medical treatment."

The spokesperson asserted that the hospital prioritized the care of its patients, staff, and visitors.