Third state complaint after a mother of 2 never came out of a Broward Brazilian butt lift
A Plantation doctor untrained in anesthesia put a cosmetic surgery patient two levels of sedation beyond consent and didn’t react properly when the woman’s heartbeat slowed, according to the Florida Department of Health.
That’s according to the Florida Department of Health’s administrative complaint filed against Dr. Millicent Muir. The patient, Jaynisha Williams, a 26-year-old mother of two, never woke up from her Brazilian butt lift at The Best U Now office surgery center. She died at 26 years old.
“On Oct. 20, 2021, [Muir] knew, or should have known, that she did not have the training, skill and/or experience to provide anesthesia during [Williams’] procedure,” the complaint said.
Muir’s Florida Department of Health profile lists training in obstetrics and gynecology, none as an anesthesiologist.
Muir’s lawyer in the professional discipline side of this tragedy, Monica Felder, said, “We will have no comment on this matter while that is pending.”
This is the third administrative complaint filed after Williams’ death. The first was filed against Dr. John Nees, The Best U Now’s designated physician. Nees has been suspended twice. Weeks into a 2003 suspension, he got caught doing surgeries at the Premiere Center for Cosmetic Surgery, which was in Coconut Grove. Investigators stated he had done 16 while on suspension.
The second was filed against Serenity Capital Investments, the name under which The Best U Now’s license was held. State records say Serenity is managed by Dorian Wilkerson and Serenity’s agent is his wife, Shareza Wilkerson. At the time of Williams’ death, the manager was the Miramar couple’s daughter, N’Kaeyah Wilkerson.
READ MORE: Here’s how to check out your Brazilian butt lift or plastic surgery doctor in Florida
Recovery personnel or anesthesiologist?
The complaint against Nees says a Sept. 1, 2021, Department of Health inspection found that he’d used Muir as an anesthesiologist for Level 2 surgeries even though she was registered only as “recovery personnel.”
As designated physician, Nees’ job involves making sure the facility operates within state rules. The complaint against Nees said among the problems the Department of Health found in a Sept. 17, 2021, inspection was Nees using Muir as an anesthesiologist. Nees’ Corrective Action Plan, submitted Oct. 15, 2021, promised: “Dr. Millicent Muir will only perform recovery at the facility as that’s what she is registered to do at the facility.”
But, that complaint said, all the documentation for Williams’ Oct. 20, 2021, breast augmentation and liposuction/Brazilian butt lift surgery listed it as a Level 2 surgery with Muir as the anesthesiologist.
The complaint against Muir says she gave Williams 50 mg of Benadryl, 2 mg of Versed and 50 mg of ketamine, followed by another 50 mg of ketamine 10 minutes later. Another 20 minutes, the complaint said, and Williams was getting 50 mg of Demerol, “followed by interspersed 2 mg more of Versed, a total of 200 mg of ketamine” and 10 mg a minute of propofol infusion.
“The aforementioned dostages and combinations of medications would be considered Level 4 sedation of general anesthesia,” the complaint said. “Prior to the surgery, JW consented to receiving Level 2 sedation. JW did not consent to receiving Level 4, general anesthesia.”
The complaint said Williams was prone, so while under general anesthesia, she “should be intubated to secure/control the airway.
“[Muir] did not intubate JW during the procedure.”
Nor did Muir intubate Williams, the complaint said, when the surgical team tried to resuscitate Williams after her heartbeat slowed and she became unresponsive.
Emergency medical services took Williams to Plantation General Hospital, about 350 yards away, where she died.
The Wilkersons sent a statement to the Miami Herald through their attorney, Chris Lomax.
“This unfortunate and tragic incident would be unbelievably sad under any circumstances but has been even more so because Ms. Williams was “family,”” the statement said in part. “The Managing Members of The Best U Now have been in constant communication with Ms. Williams’ family throughout the duration of this unfortunate and tragic event — starting from the night she passed away in October 2021.”
Williams’ mother told Miami TV station NBC 6 in December that she hadn’t heard from anyone in The Best U Now’s management.
“Ms. Williams did not disclose certain necessary information about her medical history prior to the procedure,” the Wilkersons’ statement also said. “Those details are protected under HIPPA and cannot be disclosed.”
The Best U Now, “Doctor Body’ and his wife
The Best U Now was an office surgery center in Suite No. 8 at 4101 S. Hospital Dr., a building owned from July 2020 to May 25, 2022 by LG Plantation Medical Center. LG filed suit against the Wilkersons, Serenity Capital and other entities alleging non-payment of rent on several office suites. The suit says even after LG and the Wilkersons settled on them paying just $20,000 of back rent, they didn’t pay.
“That building was in disrepair, not fit for anyone to run a business, let alone a medical facility,” Lomax said. “Our position is they owe us money because of their breach of the lease and because the building remained in disrepair.”
The Best U Now’s website refers to Dorian Wilkerson as “Doctor Body” but online state records don’t show him holding a medical license in Florida or Georgia, where his LinkedIn site claims he got his PhD in Epidemiology.
The website calls Dorian Wilkerson a “Rejuvenation Specialist and Cosmetic Analyst” and claims he “works closely with our team of Board Certified Surgeons by dissecting the personalized anatomy of a bestie’s body, desired results, comparable statistics and risk factors to ensure a safe and successful procedure.”
The LG lawsuit says Wilkerson told an LG representative in January 2022, “a patient of his died following a procedure performed by D. Wilkerson, which caused D. Wilkerson to miss substantial time from the practice.”
Part of a statement from the Wilkersons emailed to the Miami Herald by Coral Gables attorney Chris Lomax, who is representing them in the LG lawsuit, said, “The physician who performed Ms. Williams’ procedure is a licensed surgeon, authorized to perform the procedure at issue. The managing members were not involved in performing the procedure or in providing medical care to Ms. Williams or to other clients of The Best U Now.”
But, the doctor who did the cutting on Williams isn’t the one being brought into question in the state complaints.
Serenity gave up its office surgery license, and The Best U Now closed on Dec. 9, one month after the state’s administrative complaint.
The first email from Shareza Wilkerson to customers, shared with the Miami Herald by a customer, claimed the surgery center closed because the “parent company has been acquired by another business.” A second email from Wilkerson made the closing sound more voluntary, stating the surgery center’s management “has made the difficult decision to close our facility effective December 9, 2022.”
The Wilkersons’ statement to the Herald said: “The Best U Now’s decision to cancel its license with the Florida Department of Health was not related to Ms. Williams’ untimely death or any claims or legal actions that may be pending against The Best U Now or any of its affiliates.”
On Feb. 8, Deja Plante, trustee of Awhofa Irrevocable Trust, filed a lawsuit in Broward County against Serenity Capital and the Wilkersons. The suit claims the first installment payment on a loan to Serenity was due Nov. 15, but nobody has made that payment or any payment.
The lawsuit says the trust loaned Serenity $200,000 on Oct. 22, 2021 — the day after Williams’ death.
Meanwhile, state records say the Wilkersons reinstated the registration of one of their companies in October and changed the principal address to 205 SW 84th Ave. in Plantation. That’s where Mirage Cosmetic Surgery has been setting up shop this month. Mirage’s website says “Coming soon — February 2023.”
