14 DAY TRIAL // More disturbing details are coming to light about what exactly happened in the operating room when Joan Rivers passed away. Today, reports emerged that the doctor who performed the unauthorized biopsy took time out of the surgery to pose for a selfie with the unconscious comedienne who immediately went into cardiac arrest.
Page Six claims that the doctor who was working on her vocal chords at the Manhattan clinic Yorkville Endoscopy paused the procedure to take a selfie with the patient, who was unconscious at the moment because she was under anesthesia.
Staffers told investigators about the incident in the operating room
The confession came from a staffer at the clinic, who told investigators about Joan's personal doctor's behavior during surgery. The other doctor in the room, gastroenterologist Lawrence Cohen, has since stepped down from his position with the clinic, but the Health Department is still running its investigation to determine what happened.
The report claims that Cohen had completed his endoscopy when an unidentified physician, who was later presented as a nose, ear and throat specialist that came in with Joan's entourage, took over to perform a biopsy because he said he “noticed something” on Joan's chords.
The doctor stopped the procedure to take a photo as a memory
But before he could go for the biopsy, the ear-nose-throat physician took out his camera and snapped a photo of himself with the unconscious comedienne. Minutes after the biopsy was performed, Rivers went into respiratory and cardiac arrest after her vocal chords seized and cut off her air supply.
She was rushed to the Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was kept on life support for several days before she passed away on September 4. The clinic subsequently came under fire from irate fans who held the doctors there responsible for her passing.
Since her demise, several concerning reports have come to light from people who witnessed the procedure. The fact that an unauthorized biopsy took place and that it was done by a doctor who was not licensed to practice medicine at the clinic and who also did not get his credentials checked is now raising a lot of question.
Also, the fact that the doctors took time out of the surgery to snap a selfie with the unconscious actress does not bode well for them or their careers. Joan's family has not showed any intention to sue the clinic for the botched operation, but reports indicated that they were now pondering a multi-million-dollar lawsuit.
Another theory into the comedienne's death is that the doctors used the anesthetic Propofol, the same substance that killed Michael Jacksons. Specialists have confirmed that the substance allows for very little room for error and that there is a thin line between putting the patient under and causing them respiratory arrest.