Abigail Stocker, M.D.

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Botox Injection into Stomach sphincter caused worse symptoms than started with. I saw Dr. Stocker for symptoms for stomach reflux causing sore throat, swallowing difficulty, stomach pain, and breathing problems. After having a motility test I was diagnosed with Variant Achalasia (food not entering stomach normally) and she recommended I have a procedure that involved doing an endoscopy and injecting botox into the valve between the esophagus and stomach. This was supposed to relax the muscle and food would pass easier. I was told this was 90% effective in most cases, but what I wasn't told was that for 25% of patients the muscle would relax too much and result in worse reflux than I had. I am now suffering with reflux and the same symptoms except the stomach pain 24/7 when before the procedure there were at least times during the day where I was symptom free. Basically the stomach valve now just stays open. Post procedure I was given prescriptions for 2 more medicines which aren't really helping. If I had been informed of the 25% chance of symptoms becoming worse, I probably would have reconsidered having this procedure. The good news is botox is temporary and hopefully it will wear off soon.

In the meantime, I would never recommend this physician for any procedure or care given that fact that she did not provide me with full disclosure of possible complications of this procedure. Also, I have had a poor experience with calling the office for medical advice and not having my phone call returned. That has happened to me 3 times. The only times I was called back was when I called after hours, the night of the procedure and 2 weeks later when I hadn't heard back from anyone at Dr. Stocker's office even though it had been 2 days. Both times the on call physician called me back within 30 minutes.