On January 29th, my mother had an endoscopy with Dr. Anthony Williams at Henry Ford Medical Center…read morein Brownstown, Michigan. When my mother walked in, the nurses told her, "Oh, you're lucky, this is the first time the doctor has performed an endoscopy at this location." My mother was not lucky enough, apparently. Although my mother was on-time, the procedure started 54 minutes after the scheduled time. After the surgery, both my mother and my sister (who was in the waiting room) described Dr. Williams' responses as desultory and hurried, in fact, once Dr. Williams briefly spoke to my sister, he shook her hand, said goodbye to two colleagues, and immediately exited the clinic. Before that, when my sister tried to ask him a follow-up question, he told her "I've already told your mother that," even though mother was coming out of anesthesia.
My mother knew something was off, took two Tylenol, and hoped a good night's rest would help her. This did not happen. When she woke up, she was in even more pain than before, she could not swallow, speak, or eat without pain. She took a picture of her mouth, and it was unrecognizable, her uvula was swollen, red, and had discoloration at the tip. She called Dr. Williams' office who told her to go immediately to the emergency room because it could close her airways. My mother immediately drove herself to the emergency room at Henry Ford Medical Center in Brownstown, Michigan; one of the doctors glanced at the photo taken and immediately knew that she had uvular necrosis. The doctor who saw her believes that, under Dr. Williams' care, the endoscope pushed her uvula against the palate for the entire duration of the surgery.
Uvular necrosis is an exceedingly rare complication of an endoscopy. If you look at the first picture, you can see that has a shiny, translucent appearance indicative of uvular necrosis. Right now, the tip is turning white and part of my mother's uvula will permanently slough off - and, once this happens, I will update this review to include that picture. I don't question Dr. Williams' qualifications - obviously he is - but it is clear to me that he rushed through the procedure and provided my mother substandard care for what should be a basic, routine procedure. Dr. Williams' notes for the procedure were inadequate and desultory, he provides the time when the operation started, but the area of the notes that indicate "Scope In" and "Scope Out" are suspiciously blank confirms my belief that Dr. Williams was rushing, and this leaves our family left to wonder exactly how long the scope obstructed blood flow to my mother's uvula. The doctors at Henry Ford Medical Center refused (and still refuse) to give her any pain medication despite her being miserable.
While I try give my brothers and sisters a lot of leeway, I cannot do so here, especially when he has over 20 years of experience under his belt. This is a complication that should not have happened. The fact that he hasn't personally reached out to my mother regarding this issue showcases, at best, his lack of curiosity about the outcome of his patients and, at worse, his inhumanity. I sincerely believe that Dr. Anthony Williams represents a clear and present danger to the public and I beg the reader to please avoid this man at all costs if they care about their loved one.
