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Celebrating the Miracle of Life

Cardiac Surgery
Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Paul Burns, MD

When Ignatius Inserra says “Deborah is the greatest miracle to find,” he means it.

The Holiday City, South resident can’t help but tell his story without saying “miracle” a lot. And with good reason.

“Out of nowhere I got sick,” he recalls. Before moving to Toms River, he and his beloved wife Catherine had lived in Staten Island, where Ignatius worked hard as a bank officer and a businessman raising three children. He enjoyed retirement in his new South Jersey home, watching his five grandchildren grow up, and weathered the loss of Catherine. He had never heard of Deborah, until 2019, when all of a sudden he needed cardiac care.

“In April of 2019 I went in for an aortic valve replacement and triple bypass,” he says. “I woke up two months later.”

Ignatius said his children told him that he kept pulling his tubes out, so they had to place him in an induced coma. But now, three years later, he feels terrific.

“Deborah is a miracle of life. Dr. Burns [cardiothoracic surgeon Paul Burns, MD] was wonderful, and Dr. Neary [Michael Neary, MD] in the cardiac ICU was amazing.”

“I am 84 years old, and I wish I had known about Deborah when my Catherine got sick. I have had the angels and the saints watching over me, but Deborah was my miracle.”

He added: “Everybody who works there from the person who sweeps up, to who brings you your food, to the nurses, and the doctors, they are all fantastic people. God made them all so special.”

“I see my cardiologist Dr. Sena, and I am a zillion percent satisfied with him. Deborah is amazing.”


Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills, NJ is an 89-bed teaching hospital that specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, research, and treatment of heart, lung, and vascular diseases. Founded in 1922, Deborah has been a regional and nationally recognized leader throughout its 100-year history, during which time it has healed 2.3 million patients from every corner of the United States and 87 countries in the world. From performing the first open heart surgeries (adult and pediatric) in New Jersey, to running one of the highest volume left-ventricular assist device (LVAD) implant programs in the region, Deborah has stood at the forefront of medical innovation, all while never wavering from its founding mission “there is no price on life.” Deborah is consistently recognized as a leader in patient care from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, ranked among the top hospitals in New Jersey for patient satisfaction; holds a top-tier Society of Thoracic Surgeons rating which places Deborah among the best cardiac surgery programs in the country; and is designated a national Top Teaching Hospital by The Leapfrog Group. Deborah is an Alliance member of the Cleveland Clinic Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute. 

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