Joan Rivers’ personal doctor not only allegedly performed a throat biopsy without the comedienne’s prior consent, but he supposedly also took an inexplicable mid-operation selfie, according to CNN.
“A staff member at Manhattan’s Yorkville Endoscopy clinic told investigators that the doctor, who has not been publicly identified, took a selfie photo in the procedure room while Rivers was under anesthesia,” CNN reports.
Although it was that doctor’s actions with the biopsy that allegedly caused Joan’s throat to swell, leading to her cardiac arrest and eventual death, the “ear, nose and throat specialist” has not been publicly identified. Rather, much of the blame has fallen — also appropriately — on the clinic and authorized gastroenterologist, Dr. Lawrence Cohen, who has since left the position.
Neither Joan’s doctor nor Dr. Cohen have been accused of malpractice by New York Health Department officials who are investigating the case. However, Dr. Arthur Caplan, a medical ethicist at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, said Joan’s personal doctor should have known better than to perform the operation even though he got consent from Yorkville Endoscopy.
“Even though you are a licensed physician, you still should have, if you will, the checks and balances to get your approval to practice in that particular place.”
The clinic where the operation was performed declined to comment on the allegation that Joan’s doctor took a selfie while she was under anesthesia.
