PARSIPPANY — The State Board of Dentistry has temporarily suspended the license of Dr. John Vecchione, an oral surgeon whose Budd Lake office has been linked to fifteen cases of bacterial endocarditis, a serious heart infection, pending a hearing. Vecchione has an office in Parsippany located at 265 Baldwin Road.
Vecchione agreed to the temporary suspension of his license after an unannounced state inspection of his office two weeks ago led Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino to file a Verified Complaint alleging Vecchione continues to breach infection control protocols.
Vecchione’s license will remain temporarily suspended until the Board of Dentistry holds a hearing on the allegations against him.
The Verified Complaint filed by Attorney General Porrino alleges that an August 19 inspection of Vecchione’s office – the third in 21 months – revealed continued deficiencies in his infection control practices, including failure to use sterile water or sterile saline during surgical procedures, improper handling and storage of multi-dose medication vials, non-sterile preparation of instruments, and improper handling and disposal of needles and syringes.
“We allege that Dr. Vecchione’s repeated deviations from infection control standards, as revealed in three separate inspections, represent a lack of judgment and failure to recognize the grave risk to which he is exposing his patients,” said Attorney General Porrino. “This is particularly disturbing given that 15 of his patients have contracted a serious infection after being treated by him.”
In addition to the Verified Complaint, Attorney General Porrino filed an Order to Show Cause Notice of Hearing requiring Vecchione to appear before the Board to explain why a temporary suspension or other restraints should not be placed on his license pending the Board’s final disposition of the Verified Complaint.
The day before that hearing, Vecchione entered into the Interim Consent Order for temporary license suspension. The Board adjourned his hearing until a later date. Click here to view the consent order.
“The Board has worked with Dr. Vecchione to address infection control deficiencies identified in his office and has been monitoring the situation to ensure that he is meeting CDC standards, as required by law. Allegations that he continues to fall short of those standards is extremely troubling,” said Steve Lee, Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “By obtaining the temporary suspension of Dr. Vecchione’s license, we have stopped him from treating patients until he appears before the Board to address these very serious charges.”
On July 7 Vecchione entered a Consent Order with the Board agreeing to continue to maintain infection control improvements he’d made after the state Department of Health (“DOH”) and the Board inspected his practice twice in response to reports that three of his patients contracting bacterial endocarditis between 2012 and 2014.
Among the stipulations of the Consent Order were that Vecchione would implement additional infection prevention measures, including appropriate needle safety techniques, proper storage of medication, and use of strict aseptic technique when handling medications. The Order also stipulated that the Board reserved the right to bring disciplinary action against Vecchione upon receipt of reliable information that Vecchione had violated the terms of the Order.
On July 20 a final report by the DOH determined that 15 cases of bacterial endocarditis, a heart infection, contracted by Vecchione’s patients were associated with “breaches of infection prevention practices” at his office.
Patients who believe that they have been treated by a licensed health care professional in an inappropriate manner can file an online complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting its website or by calling (800) 242-5846 (toll free within New Jersey) or (973) 504-6200.
One Hasbrouck Heights group of attorneys, the Lynch Law Firm, said they are pursuing a lawsuit against Vecchione on behalf of patients who suffered from an endocarditis infection after undergoing oral surgery.
“One person has died and 14 other patients of Dr. Vecchione’s have suffered from an endocarditis infection that have been associated with a variety of safety violations that occurred during their surgery,” according to the the firm’s website. (Click here to view website) “This type of infection can lead to life-threatening cardiovascular complications.”
The law firm asked people who have suffered from an endocarditis infection, or cardiovascular issues after undergoing surgery with Vecchione, to consider filing a legal claim because they may be entitled to compensation.
Dr. Vecchione is a graduate of New York University College of Dentistry. He completed a four year residency program in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, a level 1 trauma center in New York where he received extensive training.
Dr. Vecchione is a member of American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, International Congress of Dental Implantology, American College of Oral Implantology, American Board of Dental Anesthesia and a fellow of American Dental Society of Anesthesia.
