Joan Rivers' outpatient clinic, Yorkville Endoscopy, has reportedly fired its medical director after complications during a throat procedure led to her death at age of 81.
ADVERTISEMENT
"BREAKING: Medical director of Yorkville Endoscopy where #JoanRivers went to cardiac arrest is out," New York's ABC News affiliate confirmed in a Friday tweet. "He is no longer performing procedures at the clinic."
The Joan & Melissa: Joan Know Best? star and The Celebrity Apprentice winner reportedly went in to Yorkville Endoscopy for a routine endoscopy on August 28.
A clinic doctor noticed "something" on her vocal cords, according to the New York Daily News, resulting in another doctor and member of Rivers' entourage asking the clinic if he could use their instruments to investigate the issue further.
"He asked and they let him," a source told the newspaper, adding that Rivers' doctor had identified himself as an ear, nose and throat specialist. "A huge no-no."
ADVERTISEMENT
The report continued to claim that Rivers' doctor proceeded to perform an unplanned biopsy which caused the vocal cords to seize -- a medical condition called laryngospasm -- and cut off her air supply, according to the source.
"A biopsy like that should only be done in a hospital setting," the source said of the procedure, which Rivers had allegedly not approved. "If she had been in a hospital when it happened, she might have been okay."
However, Yorkville Endoscopy issued a denial insisting the comedian never underwent an unplanned throat biopsy nor did the clinic utilize general anesthesia for her procedure.
Rivers died at Mount Sinai Hospital on September 4 when her daughter Melissa Rivers decided to take her off life support.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski